While many large automakers -- both foreign and domestic -- are cutting their advertising budget, Audi is sticking to their original plan and going for expensive, high-profile TV advertising spots on olympic brodcasts, Sunday Night Football and the next Superbowl.

"We're going for a broader reach for our media to get Audi out of the best-kept-secret box," said Mr. Keogh, Audi's Chief Marketing Officer.

Since A4 is the brand's best-selling model, Audi will spend more in the second half of 2008, he said, declining to be specific. The company spent $24 million through May (excluding outdoor), according to TNS Media Intelligence.

The A4 launch ads tout the car as "the biggest, fastest, most fuel-efficient in its class," said Mr. Keogh, adding that he wants that message out there "very succinctly" to bust misperceptions that Audi is merely a near-luxury make.

Source: AdAge