Marmota Audi

Every February 2nd, the world looks to a burrow. At DDB, they seized Groundhog Day to launch an activation for the new Audi Q3 — and decided that day would never be the same again. This year, the groundhog left its burrow… to stay in a Q3.

The social media activation was built around 4 animated pieces telling the story of the groundhog and its love affair with the Q3, along with a series of static pieces bringing to life a contest with a prize to match: an experience with the new Q3.

The challenge was huge (even more so at the time): animating a groundhog alongside a car where the car is the true protagonist and must be identical to the real thing, down to the millimeter. And car brands don't forgive a single reflection out of place.

Our answer: treat AI the way you treat a traditional shoot. Casting (of groundhogs, in this case), location scouting up to the brand's standards, a shooting set, and shot-by-shot planning. Plenty of preparation up front and plenty of post-production behind to make every piece fit perfectly.

1.7M impressions, 18k interactions and 794 new followers.

And something harder to measure: proving that production-company-level work can be done on a timeline and budget that only make sense for social.