Modern Classics Magazine – September 2019

MODERN CLASSICS 57

e had a lot of ground to make up,’ says Jon
Zammettas he recallshisearlydayswith
Audiinthe1980s.‘Mercedes-BenzandBMW
hadbigrangesandstandalonedealerships;
our rangewasbasedentirelyonthe 80 and100.Bothwere
quitestaid,andwe werelookingto findourfeet.
‘ThebiggestmoveinthatrespectwasseparatingAudi
fromVolkswagendealerships.Historically,Volkswagen
boughtAudiforitsengineeringanddevelopmentfacilities,
anddidn’tevenplanto usetheAudibadge.Chiefengineer
LudwigFranzactuallydevelopedthefirstAudi 100 in
secret,andpresentedit to theVolkswagenboardas its
ownbrand,butwhilethecarwasaccepted,VWtreatedit
li ketheirownmodel.Theresultof thiswasthat,even
whenwe werewinningralliesintheEighties,an‘Audi
dealership’wasa rectangleof brownshagpilecarpetinthe
cornerof a Volkswagendealershipwitha quattroonit.
‘Intermsof identity,we decidedthat“madein
Germany”wasa goodthingwhichsuggestedquality.The

our motorshowstandswithengineersandsalesstaff,

ratherthanpeoplefromagencies.Therewasalwaysa

sensethatyoucouldspeakto someoneintheknow.’

AsDavidIngramexplains,thenextjobwasto builda

biggerrange,themainstayof whichwasthenewA4of

19 94,launchedwitha memorableadvertinwhicha noisy,

nauseating,Eightiesyuppytest-drivesonethenwalks

away,sayingit’snotreallyhisthing.‘Thatwasa classicad

for us –takingthepissoutof BMWdrivers!’laughsDavid.

‘Butit wasactuallysupposedto lureBMWdriversto Audi,

byacknowledgingthearrogantimagethatBMWshadand

suggestingyoucouldstillhavea carthatwasgreatto drive

withoutbeinglumberedwiththeconnotations.It alsogave

W Yuppies were

prime targets

in this iconic

TV ad for the

all-new A4.

After BTCC

dominance,

the new TT

was perfectly

timed.

JON ZAMMETT FORMER HEAD OF PR, AUDI UK

'FROM 1993 AUDI CUSTOMERS NO

LONGER HAD TO PUSH PAST POLOS'

brand was so little-known in the early 1980s that people
didn’t actually know where they were made. We also
needed a humorous, human element, which we got by
using comedy actor Geoffrey Palmer to voice the
“Vorsprung durch Technik” adverts.
‘The brand separation came in 1993, when Volkswagen
granted Audi its own dealerships. Audi customers no
longer had to push past Polos to look at a new 100, so we
could create the sense of what the brand was about. The
intention was to be passionate – to counter Mercedes-
Benz, which could be seen to be a bit stuffy and aloof – and
very accessible to customers, unlike BMW, which had a
somewhat aggressive image. To this end, we’d always staff