Over a third of American population will sit down in front of their TVs this weekend to watch the Falcons fight the Patriots for a place in Super Bowl history. But there’s another battle brooding behind the TV screens – the most expensive advertising slot on earth invites over 40 firms to fight for their place to feature the most successful advert during the big Game.

The German car manufacturer owned by Volkswagen, Audi, is not an exception and has just launched its ninth-year Super Bowl commercial, which bears the hashtag #DriveProgress. As Audi has accustomed us so far, the 60-second spot named “Daughter” shows yet another memorable story of its vehicles. The car producing giant had managed to bring the commercial titled “The Commander” into the top best Super Bowl commercials of 2016.

The most recent TV ad brings us to a start of a cart race during which a father watches his little girl competing, and thinks about what the future holds for her. As his daughter races around with remarkable determination to win the downhill competition, the father asks himself whether she will be judged based on her gender: “What do I tell my daughter? […] Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she meets?”

As the courageous daughter wins the competition, we can hear a more promising message from her dad: “Or maybe I’ll be able to tell her something different.” After the run, both of them walk towards their Audi S5 Sportback Prestige, while the main tagline “Progress is for everyone” ends the video with a clear message towards male and female equality.

Audi’s Vice President of marketing, Loren Angelo says: “With ‘Daughter,’ Audi continues to push the envelope with compelling storytelling on a national platform. Pay equality is a big message for a big stage. […] progress is at the heart of what we do. We’re a brand that’s ahead of the curve and looking towards the future, just like our next generation of buyers.”

According to the press release, in a world where women suffer from inequality due to gender, the luxury car brand aims to be involved in supporting “women’s pay equality in the workplace and to foster a work environment that drives equality for all employees.” Moreover, Audi joined the gender equality cause by organizing an internship program, in which 50% of the members registered must be women.

This is not the first time Audi fights for the women rights: the company supports another initiative through which it wants to expand women’s opportunities in art and film. Being a true supporter of the organization American Film Institute (AFI), Audi recently announced a 215,000$ Audi Fellowship program that will be awarded to a promising female director with enrollment to AFI Conservatory 2017.

A similar initiative was adopted by the giant tech company IBM, which also fights to establish equality between women and men and stands firm against discrimination within the workplace, by changing its world-wide known logo into a rainbow version of the iconic symbol, this way implementing a new campaign that aims to support the LGBT movement.

The ‘Daughter’ video which will air on 5 February during the third quarter of the Big Game, represents the result of a strong collaboration between the car manufacturer, the award-winning filmmaker Aoife McArdle, and Venables Bell & Partners, who launched the previous Audi ad named “Duel” in September 2016. Also, the San Francisco-based agency, recently worked with the sportswear company Reebok for the “Be More Human” campaign, encouraging people to give their best version of themselves.

And if this is all too serious for you, watch some funny Super Bowl commercials by Avocados from Mexico:

Credits:

Client: Audi

Agency: Venables Bell & Partners

Filmmaker: Aoife McArdle