In the Post-Driving Era, Audi Shows How Quickly We'll Become Nostalgic for the Wheel

When the time of self-driving cars truly arrives, our lives are sure to be safer and more leisurely. But humans thrive on thrill and restlessness, so will we soon find ourselves too relaxed? That's the question at the heart of Audi's new spot from Venables Bell & Partners, which looks into the near future to show a man whose life seems to have it all—big house, successful career and, of course, a self-driving car. But on this day, his Siri-esque personal digital assistant, Clara (voiced by Selma Blair), notices that he seems a bit forlorn and wistful. "David, what's on your mind" she asks. He describes the days of his youth, spent driving and exploring as friendships grew and romance bloomed. [kickout id="1"] "Driving wasn't just about being taken from place to place," he says, "but going somewhere...feeling something along the way." Directed by Craig Gillespie of "I, Tonya" fame, the spot feels eerily accurate in its prediction that we'll all soon long for the days of being behind the wheel—even if we appreciate the extra time and reduced accidents. While his AI assistant comes off a bit too motherly (and somewhat reminiscent of HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey" asking, "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?", and suggesting the astronaut take a "sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over"), the ad walks a careful line of celebrating driving without attacking the idea of autonomous cars, which makes sense given that Audi is one of the industry leaders on integrating self-driving and responsive tech into popular models like the A8. In the ad, David's autonomous car isn't clearly branded as an Audi, though we're left to assume from his brand loyalty that he's stuck with the luxury automaker over the years. As a result, we end up with a classic "have your cake and eat it too" solution: Why own just one Audi when you can own two? CREDITS: Client Name: Audi Of America Brand: Audi Spot Name: Driver Agency: Venables Bell & Partners Founder, Chairman: Paul Venables Executive Creative Director: Will Mcginness Creative Director: Justin Moore Creative Director: Matt Miller Art Director: Aisha Hakim Senior Copywriter: Jake Reilly Director Of Integrated Production: Craig Allen Producer: Gabby Gardner Head Of Brand Management: David Corns Group Brand Director: Cara Watson Brand Director: Jon Phillips Brand Supervisor: Justin Wang Brand Supervisor: Casey Warendorf Brand Manager: Hope Stadulis Group Strategy Director: Uli Kurtenbach Senior Strategist: Mike Riley Director Of Business Affairs: Quynh-an Phan Business Affairs Manager: Sametta Gbillia Business Affairs Manager: Susan Conklin Senior Traffic Manager: Jermelia Holling Creative Resource Manager: Jessica Youssefia Director Of Lumberyard: Raquel Bedard Mcr Operations Manager: Jeff Saunders Production Company: Mjz Director: Craig Gillespie President: David Zander Executive Producer: Emma Wilcoskson Line Producer: Michaela Johnson Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sourd Production Designer: Jamie Vickers Editing Company: Final Cut Editor: Rick Russell Executive Producer: Suzy Ramirez Producer: Barbara Healy Assistant Editor: Dillon Stoneburner Music Company: Human Producer: Kamela Anderson Composers: Ed Dunne And Craig Deleon Creative Lead: Craig Deleon Sound Design & Mix: 740 Sound Mixer: Chris Pinkston Sound Designers: Chris Pinkston, A Josh Reinhardt, Rob Marshall Executive Producer: Scott Ganary Producer: Jeff Martin Vfx/finishing: The Mill Executive Producer: Anastasia Von Rahl Producer: Dan Love Production Coordinator: Jalisa House, Jasmine Singh Shoot Supervisors: John Shirley, Ben Smith, Matt Bohnert Production Creative Director: John Shirley 2-D Lead Artist: Ben Smith 3-D Lead Artist: Matt Bohnert 2-D Artists: Dylan Streiff, Jake Alberts, Katerina Arroyo, Patrick Heinen, Elliott Brennan 3-D Artists: Annie Zhao, Ziming Liu, Jason Jansky, Juan Salazar, Katie Yancey, Samantha Pedregon, Sharlene Lin, Freddy Parra, Elizabeth Hammer, Michael Lori Matte Painting: Gillian George, Marissa Krupen Design/Motion Graphics: Greg Park Additional: Shane Baxley (Concepting) Telecine: Company 3 Colorist: Tom Poole Color Producer: Alexandra Lubrano Color Assist: Jenny Montgomery