New Audi ad campaign aims to counter skepticism of EVs

Audi is gearing up to launch the E-Tron, its first battery-electric vehicle, and it is greasing the skids, so to speak, by releasing a national advertising campaign aimed at conquering skeptics of EVs.

It's called "Not For You," and the 60-second ad opens on a man clad in robe and slippers who has come out of his home with his dog to fetch the morning paper. He watches as a garage door across the street opens to reveal an E-Tron connected to a charger. Then, he's transported to a variety of scenic locations — a dusty desert plateau, a snowy mountain range and rainy forest — and the not-so-scenic, crowded parking lot of a gas station, all to make points to counter doubts about range, charging infrastructure and performance of EVs.

A separate educational video called "Range Tranquility" explains features like the range map on the vehicle's MMI that shows you the radius of where you can travel with your remaining charge and its top-of-class 150-kilowatt fast charging capability, which can charge the battery to around 80 percent of capacity in half an hour.

The main ad is reminiscent of the $45 million brand-neutral campaign to boost awareness of electric vehicles by Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America, which uses music from the Flintstones and Jetsons. Audi plans to electrify a third of all new models in the U.S. by 2025.

Billed by Audi as "the no-compromise electric SUV," the E-Tron earned an EPA-rated range of 204 miles, which actually places it behind competitors like the Jaguar I-Pace (234 miles) and the Tesla Model X (295 miles). U.S. sales of the E-Tron start next month, starting at $75,795 including destination but not including the available $7,500 federal tax rebate for EVs.