For the first time since entering the game in 2008, Audi will not appear during Super Bowl XLIX, which will air on NBC on Feb. 1, according to a company spokesman.

"The Super Bowl has been a valuable part of the Audi marketing plan for nearly a decade," spokesman Andrew Lipman said via email.

Mr. Lipman added that Audi's Super Bowl commercials have increased awareness and showroom traffic post-game, but declined to provide further insight on why it chose not to air a commercial in this year's game.

Audi's 2014 commercial for its Audi A3 depicted a "Doberhuahua," a cross-breed between a Doberman and a Chihuahua mean to show the perils of compromise. A teaser campaign prior to the game featured Sarah McLachlan in a SPCA-style "Special Message." Audi's advertising is handled by Venables, Bell & Partners, San Francisco.

It's 2014 Super Bowl campaign also included social-media war rooms on both coasts, a partnership with The Onion and utilizing Snapchat.

"While the NFL remains an important platform for reaching our consumers, we won't be investing in the game this year," he said.

Audi joins sibling brand Volkswagen, as well as General Motors, Lincoln, Ford, Jaguar, Honda and Acura, who have also decided to hit the brakes on Super Bowl advertising.

That's a reversal from the last several years, when there were a glut of auto ads in the Super Bowl. In 2014 there were 11 different nameplates in the Super Bowl and the category accounted for over one-fourth of the total ad time in the game, according to Kantar Media.