Audi called out its competitors to highlight its hill-assist feature in a clever way

Audi once showed off its hill-assist feature, AKA Hold Assist, in a super cute way.

No specs, no technical deep dive, just a squirrel running a tiny roadside experiment.

And somehow, that setup managed to call out every competitor without saying a single word.

It’s the kind of ad you remember instinctively, the way good ideas stay with you long after the details fade.

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How Audi used a squirrel to call out its competitors

Back in 2004, the German marque dropped an ad, featured above, built entirely around a hill, a red light, and one very motivated squirrel.

Each time a car stopped on the incline, the squirrel placed an uncracked acorn behind its wheel. 

When the light turned green, the car rolled backward just enough to crush the acorn – a tiny reminder of how most cars behave on slopes.

Then an Audi pulled up. 

Same hill, same squirrel, same acorn.

But when the light changed, the car didn’t budge. 

No rollback, no crunch. 

Just a disappointed squirrel staring at its untouched snack.

“Uphills and downhills are easier with Audi Hold Assist,” the screen reads.

The feature itself, Hold Assist, keeps brake pressure on all four wheels until the driver accelerates, preventing that annoying backward lurch. 

And the ad perfectly showcased its appeal, in a slightly devastating way.

The results proved the ad wasn’t just clever

The campaign landed exactly the way the company had hoped. 

Awareness of its Hold Assist system jumped 17 percent across Europe in the first quarter after launch. 

Then sales climbed 11.4 percent year-over-year, proving the message did more than just entertain.

It even earned a Cannes Lions shortlist nod, becoming a go-to example of how minimal storytelling can outperform feature-heavy marketing.

Two decades later, people still talk about that squirrel.

Turns out, good engineering doesn’t need a flashy script.

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