Audi’s offering a free, downloadable 13-page coloring book to help pass the time during shelter-in-place orders.
There’s plenty of coronavirus-related gloom and doom floating around the auto industry right now, most of it merited. However, as increasing numbers of people are sheltering in place to stamp out the virus, Audi’s offering everyone a bit of brightness during a dark time.
A coloring book.
The German premium brand encourages folks to “Color Your Passion” by producing a free downloadable 13-page coloring book featuring Audis of various generations. So if you have young children wanting to color, now you can join them, creating a Sunset orange R8 or a Caribbean green Q7.
(Analysts warn auto sales forecasts looking dire.)
Ian Callum’s Callum Design offers three coloring pages for kids during the coronavirus quarantine and free prizes on social media.
Audi isn’t the first to come up with the idea, but its book is the largest. Former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum, who left last to form his own design firm, offered three downloadable sketches a few days ago of the Vanquish 25 hoping to give kids in the United Kingdom something to do as they do are under similar restrictions as children in the U.S.
The German brand’s book features a variety of vehicles on its pages. The R8 is most prominently featured and not looking to miss a potential marketing opportunity, the new Q7 crossover gets a couple of pages in the book as well.
However, the company also delves into its history as well. There’s a picture of one of Audi’s Quattro rally cars skidding through a curve on a course complete with flying dirt and roadside spectators. Additionally, the book has an A6 sedan as well as some non-specific patterns that feature the use of the four rings.
(Detroit automakers set to temporarily shutter North American production.)
The company’s history isn’t ignored as the grille of an Auto Union race car graces one of the pages. There is also a 1919 Slaby-Beringer electric car. That company was owned, in part, by DKW, which went on to be one of the founders of DKW. That car is parked next to an R8, providing a look at the present and the past.
In a brief statement, the company said “Audi enthusiasts, young and old alike, have a little more time at home these days” so they’ve decided to make the coloring book available for free “in light of the current situation.”
Good news for those with kids who are prodigious crayon artists, in addition to Audi and McCallum, Mercedes-Benz also offers a free coloring book. The German luxury marque took to Facebook last week to offer its coloring pages for download as well. Initially it started with seven pages, now the company has more than a dozen.
(Facing sales collapse, wave of repos, automakers reach out to consumers.)
“To all the parents out there: Running out of coloring books? Happy to help with our Mercedes-Benz coloring templates,” Mercedes-Benz said on its official Facebook page. “Let your kids paint their Mercedes the way they like it and send it to us by using the hashtag #coloryourbenz.”