On World Book Day this year, Audi Spain took a creative approach to an age-old problem — nobody actually reads the owner's manual for their car. The German automaker teamed up with Penguin Random House to merge dry, technical manuals with captivating short stories. Seven Spanish authors were tasked with writing original pieces of fiction incorporating specific words and phrases from Audi's manuals — Novelas de Manual.
The result is a series of stories ranging from tales of World War II to musings on modern romance, each punctuated with highlighted words that allow the reader to jump to explanations of their vehicle's features and functions. For example, a story about "The Day Alicia Sabater Died" connects to information about replenishing brake fluid. The campaign was developed for Audi by Ogilvy and marks the fourth time the two have celebrated Book Day with literary projects. Previous initiatives included crowdsourcing stories that hadn't yet been written and transforming customer service anecdotes into fictional narratives.
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As automotive technology becomes increasingly commoditized, brand differentiation is more crucial — and more challenging — than ever. Audi's repeated use of literature and storytelling distinguishes it from competitors, potentially attracting customers with creativity and consumer-centric innovation. One to be inspired by next time you need to educate or inform your own audience?
