Last Sunday, all eyes were on the 51st Super Bowl as Lady Gaga performed the halftime show and the New England Patriots had an epic comeback as it beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. But apart from the game and the “Born This Way” singer’s acrobatic performance, people were drawn to a few of the ads that aired during the game, with one getting praised for its gender pay equality theme.
Audi’s ad features a father watching his daughter in a cart race and thinks about whether he should tell her that she is being judged based on her gender. Meanwhile, the little girl races against boys who are determined to edge her out of the race, with one particularly malevolent fellow purposely bumping her cart with his.
“What do I tell my daughter?” the father muses. “Do I tell her that her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued less than every man she ever meets?”
Though some viewers criticized the car company for not practicing what it preaches in the ad, people took to social media to praise Audi for its positive message as the company brings awareness to the gender wage gap.
Several celebrities took to Twitter to say that they loved the Audi ad, including Constance Zimmer, Octavia Spencer, Elizabeth Banks, Alyssa Milano, and Aisha Tyler.
Spencer wrote, “We see you #Audi great commercial.” Later, the “Hidden Figures” actress said that the lease on her BWM is in July, and the ad made her want to take a closer look at Audi.
Tyler tweeted, “Aaaah this Audi USA commercial on equal pay is every single freaking excellent thing in the world.”
The car company’s account responded, saying that they were glad that the issue matters to the “Criminal Minds” actress as much as it does to them.
The hashtag #AudiAd began trending on the micro-blogging site over the weekend, and some commenters vowed that their next car will be an Audi. One Twitter user said that the commercial was “probably the best one so far.”
Though deniers claim that there is no such thing as a gender wage gap, it was previously reported that women in the United States earn just 79 cents for every dollar men make. This is likely the reason why the Audi ad has resonated with a lot of women since it aired before the Super Bowl.
Audi also responded to its critics via Twitter, saying that they believe in equality in the workplace.
“Progress is for everybody,” the company tweeted. “At Audi, we stand with every organization that is committed to equal pay for equal work.”
For more, check out Jobs & Hire's report on the woman that was sent home from work for not wearing high heels.
