Audi isn’t known for their commercials, but I have a feeling this one will get some run over the next few weeks.

Here’s the clip:

The vampire craze is probably a year or two past its height, so I have to deduct a few points for that.  If this were run last year Audi could have really cashed in on the Twilight, Trueblood and Vampire Diaries mania that took over the country.

Alas, they did not, so we’re left to review the ad this year.  In the ad, a guy is driving to a party at night, and he flashes his fangs to let us know he’s a vampire.  When we see shots of the party, we understand that it is entirely populated by vampires as well.

Problems ensue when the Audi driving vampire (who happens to turns his LED headlights toward ) burns up everyone at the party.  What could have been a decadent shindig turned into a broken acoustic guitar and a sad vampire with a whole case O+ all to himself.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad ad, just a little trite.  I especially like dEcho & the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Time” being used for the ad’s soundtrack, so I’m bumping up the grade a little for that.

Commercial Grade: C+

Race organizer Roger Penske cited the deteriorating economic conditions as the main reason. He did not go as far as calling it a cancellation, hoping for a return to his “home race”, but merely referred to it as a postponement. Regardless of what its called, it’s not on the schedule for 2009.

The race, which was to have been run over Labor Day weekend is a prime spot on any racing calendar as the battle for entertainment dollars hits premium levels. Especially during a recession…or worse, the money people are spending on entertainment items has certainly dropped. IndyCar officials are working on a replacing the event.

The Indy Racing League made its debut race in 2007 at the Belle Isle track. From all accounts it was a very successful event and the promises of many future races looked very bright, until the economy woes struck with full force in 2008.

Another contributing factor may be the loss of two marquee teams in the American Le Mans Series. The ALMS and the IndyCar Series made for a full weekend of racing and have been paired together for the past several seasons.

The Audi ALMS team has won each LMP1 championship since 2000 and have said their pullout is due to wanting to focus on European racing. Underneath it all, in the current economic environment, this seems an unlikely reason. Audi, the company that prides it self on selling its cars by winning races, would seem to be putting a big hole in their marketing plan if that were true…at least domestically.

Porsche, the parent company of Audi, is also pulling out of the series. The teams will participate in the 12 hours of Sebring on March 21st.