What: Audi Ski Jump Commercial
Focus: quattro, Audi 100 CS quattro (C3, type 44)
Year: 1986
Location: Pitkävuori ski jump, Kaipola, Finland
Driver: Harald Demuth
Ad Agency: Hamilton & Partners
OVERVIEW
The Audi Ski Jump commercial is one of the most iconic advertising films in the history of the Audi brand and a landmark moment in automotive marketing. First released in 1986, the spot featured professional rally driver Harald Demuth piloting an Audi 100 CS quattro up the Pitkävuori ski jump in Kaipola, Finland. Its imagery, simplicity, and audacity helped cement quattro all-wheel drive as a defining element of Audi’s identity.
BACKGROUND
The commercial was filmed at the Pitkävuori ski jump, a steep and snowy structure with an 80 percent gradient, equivalent to approximately 37.5 degrees. The ascent measured 47 meters, or roughly 154 feet. In the film, Demuth drives the Audi 100 CS quattro straight up the ski jump without external assistance, a demonstration made possible by the car’s permanent all-wheel-drive system. The feat quickly became a symbol of quattro capability and an enduring reference point within European automotive advertising.
AD AGENCY & CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
The 1986 commercial was conceived and produced by Hamilton & Partners, an agency known for its early collaboration with Audi during a formative period in the brand’s marketing evolution. The ski jump film became one of the first dramatic, visually minimalist spots to embody Audi’s emerging “Vorsprung durch Technik” identity, showcasing innovation through a single bold idea rather than complex narrative or dialog.
Hamilton & Partners had already begun establishing a reputation for technologically focused storytelling, but the ski jump spot marked a turning point. Its stark imagery—an Audi 100 CS quattro driving up a snow-covered ski ramp before appearing to launch off the crest—set a new creative benchmark for automotive advertising. The agency’s emphasis on real-world demonstration over visual effects reinforced Audi’s engineering credibility. The success of the commercial helped shape the brand’s communication strategy for years to come and inspired numerous homages and parodies across media and advertising.
LEGACY & RE-CREATION
The Pitkävuori jump was closed in 1994, but its legacy lived on through the famous commercial. For Audi’s “25 years of quattro” anniversary in 2005, the company decided to revisit the location and recreate the feat. The ski jump required repairs to return it to usable condition for filming.
In the 2005 remake, titled “Ski Jump 2005,” Audi engineer Uwe Bleck drove a new Audi A6 4.2 quattro up the same incline, echoing Demuth’s original achievement nearly two decades earlier. The 45-second spot began airing on 5 March 2005, reinforcing the continuity of quattro engineering across generations.
CULTURAL IMPACT
Over the decades, the Ski Jump commercial has become one of several Audi advertising moments that contributed to the mystique of quattro. Alongside other notable visuals—such as skiers racing through San Francisco streets, rally quattros in competition, and later the Q7 traversing ice sheets—the ski jump ascent is frequently cited as a definitive example of Audi’s product-focused, technically driven storytelling.
The 1986 commercial remains a celebrated piece of advertising history, emblematic of the quattro system’s reputation and of Audi’s approach to showcasing technology through bold, visually striking demonstrations.
PHOTO GALLERY
