In 2017, Audi launched Audi Sport, its ultra-performance division in the US, going directly against BMW M Series and Mercedes AMG. With established brands operating with significantly larger budgets, Audi’s relatively unknown performance line has to use every new car introduction to capture attention and create the desire in new ways.

The challenge was how to launch the first-ever Audi RS 5 Sportback only on social during the busy, highly cluttered holiday season. As Audi’s latest performance feat, packing 444 horsepower into a relatively under the radar body style, this desire driving machine was waiting to be unleashed.

The objective was to make the all-new Audi RS5 Sportback the must-have gift everyone would do whatever it took to deserve it, even dear old jolly Saint Nick.

The holidays are a time where we pause, reflect, and take stock of the year. We set new goals of who we want to be and what we want to do. For a brand like Audi, which prides itself on progress and transformation, the holidays are also a time to make a statement. And nothing makes a statement like completely reinventing a 1748-year-old icon from the boots up.

In this short film, Santa re-evaluates his life over the past two millennia. Inspired by the first-ever RS 5 Sportback, he undergoes a year-long reinvention. His transformation ended up delighting drivers around the world and became Audi’s most successful and shared social video in history.

There’s no shame in a little self-indulgence.

The holidays are full of warm fuzzy feelings: love, giving, family. But there’s one thing we like to pretend doesn’t exist, greed. With every gift we cross off our list, we think of the gift we could have gotten ourselves. So, who better to show the real feelings of the holidays than Santa himself? Having spent the last two millennia taking care of others, it was finally the Audi RS 5 Sportback that got him to stop caring about others and start caring about himself. Everyone deserves to be a little greedy sometimes, including Santa, so why not celebrate yourself?

The New Santa film was strategically teased to Audi audiences across key social channels beginning December 7th, piquing interest in advance of the full film drop just days later on December 10th.

The record-breaking film was amplified with the support of paid social and digital distribution partners, as well as a custom content integration with GQ promoting Santa’s transformation. We sustained momentum, and gave fans a closer look at the all-new RS 5 Sportback on Instagram, where we featured a 9-image story that showcased the new model. Using GIFs of key moments within the film, we responded to fans as they engaged with the campaign.

The unique storytelling broke through the holiday clutter & social-first activation reached our audience where they like to spend their time.

With record breaking performance across social, New Santa was top of mind during the holiday season and was one of Audi’s most successful social-first campaigns:

47.4M+ video views across properties, +374% over goal

Ranked 3rd on YouTube Ads Leaderboard for December, which highlights the top ads of the month.

149K social shares, becoming Audi’s most shared video on both Facebook and YouTube.

24.4M Press Imps, +62% over goal, with 29 write-ups in endemic and affinity publications such as Adage, Motor1, Automotive News, and Muse.

3.5M+ engagements across social, for an engagement rate 72% above goal.

5 point lift in recall on Twitter; lifts in awareness, recall, and message association seen across Facebook and Twitter.

89% positive sentiment, +14 pts. over goal

GQ partnership featuring the program delivered CTR 7x higher than benchmark.