• by Tanya Gazdik , June 1, 2017

In a new spot for the S5 Sportback, Audi is using Secretariat, a Triple Crown winner and a horse synonymous with exceptional performance and high intelligence, as a metaphor for the new vehicle.

The spot breaks tonight during the NBA Finals. The Sportback campaign will also integrate digital and social components, says Kenneth Bracht, director of brand marketing, Audi of America.

“For the A5/S5 Sportback, we are targeting a Gen X consumer that enjoys the finer things in life including sports, fine dining, international travel, technology and more,” Bracht tells Marketing Daily. “This campaign is consistent with how we have positioned Audi — a brand that stands for progress.”

In this case, it calls out that “Progress is powered from within,” which alludes to not only the strong heart that drove Secretariat to victory but the powerful 354hp engine in the all-new S5 Sportback, he says.

“The S5 Sportback represents power and design,” Bracht says. “We believe it will be a halo for the entire A5 family which also includes the A5 coupe and A5 convertible.”

From AOR Venables Bell & Partners, the 60-second spot is directed by the acclaimed Marc Forster -- the filmmaker behind “Monster’s Ball,” “Finding Neverland,” “Stranger than Fiction” and “The Kite Runner.”

The way we see something is how we define its meaning and value, Forster says. “What I found most inspiring about the parallel between Audi and Secretariat is how this metaphor, this perspective, translates history into art and shifts how we think of something so that we feel something,” he says in a release.