David Bowie's "Starman" plays as an astronaut drives an all-new Audi R8 V10 plus, conjuring memories of his glory days in space (and possibly triggering viewers' emotions all the more after Bowie's death four weeks earlier). The vehicle, which Audi calls the "fastest and most powerful Audi of all time," would go on sale in the coming spring, much like the other so-called supercar in Super Bowl 50, Acura's NSX ("What He Said").

Audi, Acura and Buick, which used its Super Bowl debut that year to promote a new convertible that wasn't expected to be a high-volume seller ("Wedding"), all followed a similar strategy of using the big stage to polish the brand halo.

Audi released "The Commander," created by Venables Bell and Partners, on Feb. 3, the Wednesday before the game. 

Director: Craig Gillespie, whose Super bowl portfolio includes Snickers' "Game," CareerBuilder's "Casual Friday" and Cars.com's "Timothy Richman." Production Company: MJZ.

Executive creative director: Will McGinness. Senior art director: Rich North. Copywriters: Rus Chao, Paul Venables. Director of integrated production: Craig Allen.  Agency executive producer: Mandi Holdorf. Visual effects: The Mill. Editing Company: Final Cut Editorial. Editor: Rick Russell.

Color: CO3. Music company: Agoraphone. Sound design: 740 Sound Design. Final Mix: Formosa. Head of account management: David Corns. Account director: Chris Bergen. Account supervisors: Alexis Lovett, Ally Humpherys. Account Managers: Oliver Glenn, Faire Davidson. Assistant account manager: Bri Jones. Project manager: Talya Fisher.

BRAND: Audi

YEAR: 2016

AGENCY: Venables Bell & Partners

SUPERBOWL: 50

QUARTER AIRED: Q1