As seen on TV

In a television commercial for the Audi A6 automobile, the company extols the virtues of its “intelligent” car in a world that’s less than perfect for driving. “Across the nation, over 100,000 miles of highways and bridges are in disrepair,” says a voice-over. I guess I wasn’t the only person to notice it. I read other accounts of the ad spot on the web, mostly from people advocating the need for investment in transportation infrastructure.

And there’s another commercial in the spotlight. A radio/television ad featuring Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton that talks about transportation infrastructure has won a 2012 Hermes Award, given by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The ad, developed by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and the American Public Transportation Association, won the Gold Award in the audio advocacy category and received an honorable mention in the TV advocacy category.

We’ve often discussed the desire for such advertising at our Pit & Quarry roundtable. Almost every year at this event, someone mentions the need for getting the message out to the public. The beef industry had “It’s What’s for Dinner” and the dairy industry had “Got Milk?” to promote their products. Many in our industry have a desire to deliver a similar message. The public needs to know that pits and quarries produce the material that is used for building our roads and schools. Public awareness would help get highway bills passed and might even make it easier for producers to obtain mining permits.

Thank you, Audi, for adding to the voices calling for the need of infrastructure investment, and for delivering the message directly to the public.