For the last 14 years every Audi commercial, product and brand film has closed with an image of the four rings and the sound of a heartbeat. The acoustic signature, which has become synonymous with the brand, has now been further refined. The new Audi “heartbeat” is shorter, more dynamic, and mixed with technical sounds to give it a greater emotional appeal – after all Audi lives out its “Vorsprung durch Technik” in emotion-packed cars.

Since 1996, Audi’s sound trademark has been a beating heart. “The heartbeat has become an acoustic icon for the Company,” said Dr. Alexander Urban, Head of Brand and Customer Strategy at AUDI AG. The sound signature has become just as closely connected with the brand as the claim “Vorsprung durch Technik.” “We have now refined the acoustic quality to make two aspects stand out - great technical expertise and the brand’s emotional appeal,” said Urban. Both of these qualities also express the passion that Audi’s employees have for their work.

The new sound is more alive; what’s beating here is an actual human heart. “This heartbeat really gets under your skin,” said Urban. “And it stays in your head. We’ve backed the pulsating heart with synthetic sounds that fit with our “Vorsprung durch Technik” philosophy. They boost the sound logo’s impact and make it memorable.” The new heartbeat covers a wider range of the frequency spectrum than its predecessor, as high frequencies guarantee high-quality reproduction across all media. The new sound logo produces a saturated sound through either simple speakers or in large rooms. Advertising agencies and filmmakers can make use of the heartbeat in all 12 keys and therefore insert the logo harmoniously into any commercial.

The new heartbeat is making its debut in the television commercial for the Audi A8, which promotes the brand’s flagship model with the slogan “The Art of Progress.” At the same time the new sound logo hints at a larger project: the Company is working on an Audi corporate sound. “We asked ourselves, ‘what does the Audi brand sound like?’ We quickly realized that there are still a lot of exciting possibilities left in the acoustic design of our brand presence,” explained Urban. The agencies KLANGERFINDER GmbH & Co KG of Stuttgart and S12 GmbH of Munich are involved in developing the sound concept.

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