Aoife McArdle, an alumnus of Trinity College, is the director of the trending Audi advertisement entitled “Daughter”. Originally from Tyrone, McArdle studied English Literature and Film in College.
“Daughter”, which first aired at the Super Bowl, has quickly become one of the most talked about ads of the event. The ad, which addresses the gender pay gap between men and women in the United States, has amassed 12 million views on YouTube, and is trending at number 23 on the website.
The ad depicts a young girl competing against boys in a karting soap-box race, and is narrated by the girl’s father who wonders “what will I tell my daughter? Do I tell her that her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? Do I tell her that despite her education or drive or skills or her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets?”
The ad then ends on a hopeful note: “or maybe, I’ll be able to tell her something different.”
McArdle’s ad has generated controversy, with the number of dislikes on the YouTube video almost matching the number of likes. Viewers have taken to social media to voice their displeasure for an ad which they believe addresses an issue which does not exist, with Brit Hume, senior political analyst for Fox News tweeting “wonder if it’s dawned on @Audi what a blunder their Super Bowl ad is. Political ads aimed at a divided audience are just nuts.”
Other viewers, such as Valerie Jarrett, the former senior advisor to Barack Obama and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, have praised the ad however with Jarrett saying: “Thanks, Audi, for your Super Bowl ad. Nothing political about equal pay. We should all want our daughters to have equal pay.”
McArdle has also directed videos for Samsung, Honda and Under Armour in the past. Her music video for U2’s ‘Every Breaking Wave’, earned her a nomination for Best Director at the UK Music Video Awards in 2015. McArdle’s first feature film ‘Kissing Candice’ is also due to be released in 2017.
