Audi and Airbnb Offer Up a Crazy House in Death Valley, and a Great Ad to Go With It

If you fancy hanging out in the sizzling-hot middle of nowhere, with an endless expanse of sand all around and the occasional scorpion scuttling by for distraction, Audi's got the promotion for you. As part of its Emmy Awards sponsorship, the auto brand and Airbnb will offer fans the chance to book three-day getaways at the luxury Rondolino Residence in Death Valley, Nevada. The place is so isolated, it has no actual address—just coordinates on a map. Guests get to drive a 2017 Audi R8 during their stay, which also includes chauffeur service from the airport, meals prepared by a personal chef and, according to press materials, "evening entertainment/activities." (Scorpion races, perhaps?) To tout the promo, Venables Bell & Partners created the fun spot below—it almost feels like a Super Bowl ad—which is running online and will also air during ABC's Emmys telecast on Sunday. Subtly titled "Desolation," the clip was shot in and around the Rondolino house, and it traffics in dry humor—very dry humor, given the desert locale, with Dad getting a tad absent-minded beneath the relentless rays of the sun: A java run in that heat? Maybe they were planning to make ice coffee. (Pretty cool, though, how that old-timey phonograph clack-clacks along with the soundtrack.) "We came across the Death Valley home on Airbnb," Loren Angelo, Audi of America's vp of marketing, tells AdFreak. "We immediately knew this would be the place for this car to call home, away from traffic lights, speed limits, congestion that might slow you down." The target audience, he says, consists of "anyone with a sense of adventure. Since we air during the Emmys, we hope the campaign resonates with the wide audience that tunes in. But more specifically, we know that Gen X and millennials will respond most to the campaign, as those audiences are more likely to book a travel experience like this." And if the folks who book the place start freaking out from all that arid desolation, the R8's ability to top 200 mph should get them back to civilization in no time. More pics of the Rondolino house below. CREDITS Client: Audi of America Spot: "Desolation" Agency: Venables Bell & Partners Executive Creative Director: Will McGinness Creative Directors: Justin Moore, Erich Pfeifer Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Matt Keats Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Matt Miller Senior Art Director: Kyle Jones Director of Integrated Production: Craig Allen Senior Producer: Matt Flaker Senior Art Producer: Shelly Amin Senior Art Producer: Joe Rossman Production Company: MJZ Director: Craig Gillespie Director of Photography: Phillip Lesourd Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson Producer: Martha Davis Editing Company: Final Cut Editorial Head of Production/Final Cut: Suzy Ramirez Editor: Crispin Struthers Music Company: Human Composer: James Lei Bow Creative Director: Craig Deleon Executive Producer: Jonathan Sanford Sound Design and Mix: 740 Sound Mixer: Chris Pinkston Sound Designers: Chris Pinkston, A. Josh Reinhardt, Rob Marshall Executive Producer: Scott Ganary Producer: Jeff Martin Associate Producer of Mix: Geena Richard VFX/Finish: Framestore Colorist: Beau Leon VFX Senior Executive Producer: James Razzall VFX Senior Producer: James Alexander VFX Creative Director: Alex Thomas Photographer: Sean Klingelhoefer Head of Brand Management: David Corns Brand Directors: Chris Bergen, Ally Humpherys Brand Supervisor: Alexis Lovett Assistant Brand Manager: Bri Jones Project Manager: Talya Fisher, Leah Murphy

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Audi and Airbnb Offer Up a Crazy House in Death Valley, and a Great Ad to Go With It

Up for a little 'Desolation'?

David Gianatasio

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David Gianatasio