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Audi Features David Bowie Song in Super Bowl Ad

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Audi Super Bowl hires

As if you could forget, Super Bowl 50 is gearing up to take over American TVs on Sunday night. Audi, along with several other brands, chose to debut its big game commercial on YouTube before Sunday, and it features the next-generation Audi R8 V10 plus as well as a soundtrack by the late David Bowie.

When “The Commander” opens, we see the home of a former astronaut, outfitted with memorabilia from his storied career. The astronaut, now a senior citizen, refuses to eat and is seemingly lost in a haze of memories. To help cheer him up, a young man (presumably his son or grandson) gets him out of the house and hands him the keys to the new Audi R8 V10 plus. Only then does the astronaut begin to smile, and the smile gets bigger the faster he zooms along the road and he remembers the feeling of being launched into space.

Audi Super Bowl

While the commercial is sure to stir discussion because of how well it pulls at the viewer’s heartstrings, what most people will probably be taking about is the music playing as the Audi R8 takes off. David Bowie’s “Starman” single, which the artist famously performed on Top of the Pops in 1972, plays prominently alongside the footage of a space launch and the Audi vehicle conquering the road. The song is appropriate for the commercial, and while it is obviously not directly a tribute to Bowie, it still gives the ad an extra emotional layer (and Bowie a sliver of the spotlight on game day).

Personally, I would just like to thank Audi for giving me a way to talk about David Bowie and cars at the same time. My best friend forced me to watch Labyrinth at our very first sleepover, and I have been listening to his music ever since. While he was certainly taken from us (and his family) way too soon, it’s a comfort to know that we are left with such a great artistic legacy to remember him by.

David Bowie Blackstar