Audi’s New RS 7 Ad Jumps Into the Presidential Debate Fray

It’s a man and a woman engaged in a battle royale—but for an Audi, not the future of America. 

byWill Sabel Courtney|
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If you turn on the TV a little early tonight to watch Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump engage in the verbal equivalent of WWE SmackDown, you might catch a glimpse of a well-dressed man and woman beating the merciless hell out of one another as they tear apart an elegant hotel. No, it’s not a teaser for the John Woo version of Party Down (but God, do we wish that were a thing). It’s the newest commercial for the Audi RS 7—packed with 2016 presidential election Easter eggs.

The ad, called "Duel" and commissioned specifically for the election season, depicts two valets—one man, one woman, just like a certain upcoming election—slugging it out for the right to park a glossy new Audi RS 7. Of course, you might not realize that at first; for most of its minute-and-a-half running time, the events of the ad occur in reverse, so as not to spoil the big reveal of the 605-horsepower super-sedan. (Fine, super-hatchback.)

Along the way, however, Audi has subtly peppered in reference after reference to the events, issues, and gaffes of this mind-numbingly-long presidential race. We don’t want to spoil any of them for you, but we will say that we caught at least three of them.

Not surprisingly, the spot doesn’t choose sides in the battle for the next leader of the free world—but it also doesn’t avoid the hefty stakes of this year’s election. “Beautiful things are worth fighting for,” the ad wraps up by saying. “Choose the next driver wisely."

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And in case this is, through some bizarre set of circumstances, the first you’re hearing of the debate: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will have their first debate tonight at 9 p.m. EDT. The debate itself will be presented commercial-free, but with an estimated 100 million viewers expected to be watching, advertisers will be hauling out Super Bowl-like commercials for the show.

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