Audi is ridiculed for having an all-male board after airing 'Soap Box' Super Bowl ad bashing pay gap for women

  • Audi's controversial ad devoted to gender pay inequality drew strong reactions
  • Super Bowl ad showed father lamenting that he'd have to tell his daughter 'she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets'
  • Company cites data showing that women earn 21% less than men, on average
  • But Audi's answers about its own pay practices for women are circumspect 
  • Critics say Audi, with an all-male board, is just exploiting a hot-button issue
  • 'We believe the message deserves a platform,' says (male) company exec

By Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:00 EST, 6 February 2017 | Updated: 14:50 EST, 6 February 2017

A pious Super Bowl commercial about gender pay inequality made by a car company with little clear connection to the issue is drawing strong reactions from skeptics of the ad.

The one-minute Audi commercial has quickly become one of the most talked about of Super Bowl LI, with supporters defending the message of gender equality, and critics pointing out that Germany-based Audi itself has an entirely male board of directors.

Complicating the matter, Audi representatives have repeatedly provided convoluted answers when asked whether the company practices the pay equality that it preaches.

The ad opens with a young girl racing a soapbox car against a boy, with her father musing in voiceover.

Some critics questioned Audi's commitment to practice what it preaches on gender equality

Some critics questioned Audi's commitment to practice what it preaches on gender equality

Audi executives, including most of the board of directors, are shown at the company's annual press conference in 2016. All six of Audi's current directors are male

Audi executives, including most of the board of directors, are shown at the company's annual press conference in 2016. All six of Audi's current directors are male

'What do I tell my daughter?' he asks. 'Do I tell her that her grandpa's 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 as less than every man she ever meets?' he asks, as the young girl wins the race.

As the father walks his daughter towards his Audi, he reconsiders: 'Or maybe, I'll be able to tell her something different.' 

The ad ends with the on-screen message: 'Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work.'

Critics say it's apt that an ad which preaches platitudes about gender equality features a 'Soap Box' Derby, a youth downhill racing sport that had its heyday in the 1950s.

As of Thursday, after the ad had circulated online, an analysis of social media data by Networked Insights found 25 percent of the comments about the ad were negative while 13 percent were positive, the Wall Street Journal reported. The rest of the comments were neutral, the company found.

After the ad hit the national airwaves on Sunday night, skeptics were quick to point out that Audi has a six-member board of six male directors, and that 12 out of 14 members of the company's U.S. executive team are men.

ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum skewers Audi's all-male board of directors

ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum skewers Audi's all-male board of directors

New faces of gender equality? Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler and board member Axel Strotbek

New faces of gender equality? Audi Chairman Rupert Stadler and board member Axel Strotbek

'We knew this would spark a conversation, especially on a stage as large as Super Bowl,' Loren Angelo, an Audi of America vice president of marketing, told Adweek on Friday.

'Pay equality has been a part of the public conversation for some time now and we believe the message deserves a platform.'

Audi has cited federal data showing that women working full time, on average, make 21 percent less than men working full time, with the bulk of the divergence coming after age 35.

But when asked about gender equality in its own pay practices, Audi's convoluted responses have left many scratching their heads. 

Audi offers a less-than-clear answer when asked about its own pay practices

Audi offers a less-than-clear answer when asked about its own pay practices

'There is a lot that goes into calculating pay—individual performance, experience or tenure in the job, etc,' Audi's Angelo hedged when he was questioned about Audi's pay. 

'But we are confident in our processes for evaluating pay equality and can confirm equal pay for equal work between men and women.'

Supporters of the ad spoke up as well, with one woman claiming she was planning to switch to Audi from Buick for her next car, prompting a Buick spokesperson to protest that the General Motors brand was also boldly dedicated to equal pay.

A supportive remark about the ad prompts a Buick spokesperson to hop on the bandwagon

A supportive remark about the ad prompts a Buick spokesperson to hop on the bandwagon

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