Audi-Visual Presentation : Auto Maker Hopes Celeb Drivers Draw Attention to Luxury Sedan

In “Get Shorty,” the 1995 spoof about the film industry, image-obsessed actors buy minivans because that is the car driven by a hit man-turned-entertainment mogul, played in the film by John Travolta.

Audi of America is putting the film to the test by lending luxury sedans to celebrities with influence in Hollywood. Audi is betting that its high-profile drivers will spark interest in its A8 sedans, boosting sales.

Audi has given loaners to about two dozen people in the entertainment business, including Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Quincy Jones. In return for free use of the $55,000 sedans, celebrity drivers agree to flaunt the cars by using them to tool around town and by parking them in highly visible spaces.

The loaner program, underway for a month, is part of an effort to rejuvenate Audi in Southern California, a prime market for luxury cars. Audi, the luxury division of Volkswagen, has not fully recovered from 1988 reports about a sudden acceleration problem, later proved unfounded.

Though sales are the highest they’ve been in a decade, and the A8 has received high marks from reviewers, Audi ranks a distant third to German makes Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

While auto makers sometimes lend new models to create a buzz about them, Audi’s focus on Hollywood sets it apart. In choosing celebrities for the program, Audi tapped car buffs “with active social lives,” said Audi marketing director Ken Moriarity.

“They are extroverted movers and shakers who go out a lot,” he said. “And when they do, they will take the car with them.”

Besides lending cars to famous people, Audi is taking other steps to buff its image. It is hoping to draw attention to the A8s by parking them in prime spots outside trendy boutiques and eateries. And it is providing restaurants with valet slips bearing pictures of an Audi.

At lunchtime on Monday, two white Audi A8 sedans occupied the loading zone outside Chaya Brasserie, a restaurant in West Hollywood. Two Audi spokeswomen--models in sleeveless dresses, throwbacks to 1950s auto marketing--were on hand to pitch the sedans to patrons arriving in BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars.

Audi said it doesn’t compensate restaurateurs for prime parking privileges, though it does offer a loaner to them. David Hall, general manager of Chaya Brasserie, has one.

Audi and its ad agency, KBA Advertising of Chicago, said it is too early to see results from the program--although Seinfeld bought an A8. They believe the loaners are generating a buzz about Audi.

“Word-of-mouth is strong,” said Beverly Hills Audi dealer Geoffrey W. Emery. “I just spent 20 minutes on the phone with Frank Sinatra Jr. telling him about the car.”

Audi takes its road show, which it tested in the East, to Orange County next week, where it plans to lend cars to a group that includes wealthy real estate developers and surgeons.

Birth of a Virtual Child

First came virtual pets. Now there’s a virtual child. It’s called Nano, a digital baby from Costa Mesa-based Playmates Toys that grows from infancy if properly fed and pampered. Aimed at girls ages 8 to 13, Nano rivals the virtual Giga Pets from Tiger Electronics and Tamagotchis from Bandai of America.

The virtual pets die if not cared for. If kids forget to their feed Nano, it runs away, Playmates said.

Denise Gellene can be reached via the Internet at [email protected] or fax at (213) 237-7837.