Audi partner

Las Vegas – Audi has partnered with Airbnb to offer consumers a luxury test drive experience.

• Audi are acting as hosts at the £470 ($610, €540) per night Rondolino Residence in Death Valley, Nevada
• Visitors to the property can test drive the new Audi R8 Coupé

The car manufacturer is hiring out the luxury residence in Death Valley that appears in its Desolation ad as part of its Emmy Awards 2016 sponsorship. Guests can take advantage of the property’s in-house chef and take a fully fuelled-up Audi R8 Coupé for a spin in the desert.

With its desolate landscape and soundtrack of slide guitar, the ad borrows heavily from the aesthetics of classic Westerns, and replaces the traditional cowboy on horseback with a father in a supercar.

‘Travel on Airbnb is all about experiences that liven up your sense of adventure and ultimately become a way of life,’ says Airbnb CMO Jonathan Mildenhall. ‘We love that Audi shares that same spirit.’

The campaign marks a shift away from the company’s image as a service for budget-conscious travellers with the tagline of Belong Anywhere, and makes clear its intentions to target the luxury market with unique locations, where customers can only belong if they are suitably affluent.