Advertisement
Outdoor campaign from BBH London flips the script on traditional car advertising, which usually focuses on slick product shots.
September 11, 2025 | 5 min read
Listen to article 4 min
Audi has unveiled a stripped-back out-of-home campaign that sees the whir of its engines turned into sheet music. ‘Engine Symphony’ brings to life the notion that sound is an integral part of the driving experience.
“The sound of the car itself is often overlooked, however, Audi is an ambitious brand that has a keen focus on the small details,” explained BBH’s senior strategist Christina Shutti
“The sounds of the RS models are no exception. The sound of an E-Tron model is an example of Audi’s ambition. The sound engineers often combine around 30 different samples – including the sounds of air flowing through a pipe, a remote-control helicopter and an electric screwdriver – to create the perfect EV car sound. We wanted to celebrate the intricate sounds of Audi’s RS models in an environment where they would be appreciated. A classical music concert is the epitome of human creativity and musical excellence – the sound of the Audi RS model is no different.”
Throughout the process, it was important to ensure the musical notation was accurate, which is why BBH enlisted the help of its music supervisor Hywel Evans and the composer Ben Parry. The sound was reviewed by Parry to transcribe as accurately as possible in musical notation.
“The first step was to see if the engine note of an accelerating car could accurately be transcribed into musical notation,” said Simran Sidhu, a leading creative on the project.
“Once we realized that it could, the task then became adding as much detail and nuance as possible for a knowledgeable classical music audience, without overcomplicating things. It was a complete change of mindset from usual, but an absolute delight to discuss things like ‘What German musical expression most accurately captures the feeling of an Audi engine ticking over?’ and ‘How can we best illustrate a Shepard tone [a tone that seems to rise endlessly in pitch yet never stops] in standard notation?’”
Advertisement
The work will be displayed on digital outdoor sites across the UK. Shutti says that the medium felt like the right place to get the creative in front of people who would “appreciate the beauty and intricacies of it.” Media sites were deliberately picked in areas to reach concert-goers.
“When we first printed the OOH in the office, someone at the agency actually tried playing it on the piano app on their phone! This was a good test to keep our compositions as pure and accurate as possible, in case any music readers passing by felt inspired to do the same,” added BBH creative Katy David.
“It really is one of those pieces of work that speaks to a very specific audience, proving that the more musical knowledge one has, the more one gets out of it. When we started working on it, our music department, Black Sheep Music, realized that the best way to pitch an engine note is to sing it, which led to it spending a morning in the BSM office singing engine noises and drawing bemused looks from colleagues.”
Advertisement
BBH
We believe in the power of difference to make a difference. In this media saturated world, difference has never been more important. Which is why we will continue…
Ad of the Day: Audi translates engine sound into sheet music – The Drum
