TIME89

Congrats on Your Q5,
but in US this is a luxury car - not every family can afford this car even as a first car.
And I don't quite understand your logic here - women car -

Rberg

What I mean is because the price here in N/A is reasonable, typically you could afford to have the 2nd car Like a Q5. As in Europe, you really have to be extremly loaded to have both cars. Hence it is perceived in Europe as a luxury car and that why they targeting successful men in their late 30's with a family. It is to expensive to be purely focused on woman. Te pricing is what makes the 2 different.

scottacus

I think the Q5 (as with most SUVs) is viewed more as a "family car" than a "woman's car" -- just as the station wagon and minivan used to be, SUVs and crossovers are often purchased to haul the family around town and on trips. This is probably not all that different between Europe and NA.

I can see how in Europe, where many families have only one car, there's not a perception of it as a "woman's car" or a "man's car" but more of the family car. In North America where more families have two cars, the SUV/crossover serves as the "family" car while another car serves the other driver. Since in many cases it's the mom who takes the kids more often, the SUV/crossover tends to be driven more by the mom. But dad will still often drive the car.

Of course not every buyer is alike, and single people (with and without kids) will buy the Q5 too.

BayGBM

If one goes by Audi's own advertisements you don't have to wait: they see the Q5 as a woman's car that competes with the RX. I think it is interesting (not to mention shortsighted) that they have chosen to position the Q5 this way because it is very possible to pitch the vehicle to different audiences in different ads on TV, online, magazines, etc. They have chosen not to do that.

Here are the two ads currently running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9tzrmUN-7k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8MTpaBUCpc

FitzLA

Like me. Not single (have partner) but we both have SUVs. We also own a weekend home in the mountains and needed AWD for winters and more room for our dogs. If it weren't for that, I would have the A6 3.0 Supercharged.

BayGBM

There are definitely things you can do to butch up the car: color choice, accessories, lifestyle, etc. (btw, picking up your kid after school in the Q5 is not a good way to butch it up)

I saw a black S-line in the dealership and it looked way cool. I'd have no problem owning that.

FitzLA

Just my opinion here, but if you have serious issues owning this car because it looks like a chick car, or is compared to the RX, you have some serious insecurity issues.

scottacus

Actually if you look at the second ad (at the school), you can see that Audi specifically chose a male driver (presumably the father).

I would guess that the campaign is targeted at both sexes - yes, they are clearly targeting the RX-driving-mom audience, but the second ad suggests they are also targeting men (who they are suggesting might be a bit more proud to pick up their kids in the more "masculine" Q5 than in the RXs all the moms are driving).

Some ads can connect with slightly different audiences in slightly different ways but still be meaningful. I don't know if this campaign is one of those, but I suppose it could be. But I do think it's quite effective at focusing on one single-minded idea/communication objective and getting the point across very well. In that respect I would say it is actually quite a good campaign.

BayGBM

I’ve discussed both ads before in previous threads. Although I like the Q5, neither of these ads are particularly compelling. Simply telling consumers that you are not an RX is not a reason to buy a product otherwise a Ford Focus or a loaf of bread could make the same claim. Comparison ads work best when product A is able to tell/show you why they are better. Is product A more luxurious? Does it have better specs? Better performance? Is it less expensive/a better value? etc. All these ads tell us is that an alternative to a very popular SUV exists in the form of the Q5.

pcasa

as a "girl" owner of a Q7 - I have to agree that the Q5 seems more feminine to me - from the perspective of a "softer" SUV - smaller than the 7 and competitive with the X3 ... but with that said, I'm sure Audi knew that the male audience was a given, and they were hoping to get some women on board with the size and styling - hence the "kids at school" ad ... both Q's are agressive vehicles and as others have said, very appealing to both sexes ... I bought the Q7 for its towing capacity - a feature seemingly lost on the Q5 and it was an upgrade from my allroad - thought I would never drive an SUV, especially a BIG one, but I have fallen completely in love with the beast!