BMW are industry leaders at product campaigns and again seem to have created the right campaign mix (including customer engagement strategies) – if not the correct weightings across the mix. However, from the outcome and form of the ad, it strikes me that this campaign was probably not created with conversational possibilities forefront of mind. Rather it probably conceived as a creative idea in response to an internally perceived shortcoming.

This ad potentially marks a lack of confidence at BMW regarding the strength of their current advertising format. BMW ads since the introducing of the current Design Director have overwhelming been shot in focus, from the front/ side quarter with gleaming paint work (post production) against a soft or out-of-focus background, typically a road (take a quick tour through their website http://www.bmw.co.uk). In short, they have been about the ‘experience’ of driving. The Z4, by comparison, is shot from a high angle against the white canvas – the creation of a piece of art. It is striking that the car in their range that is most about pure driving pleasure communicates the ‘joy of driving’ conceptually.

The fact that the campaign ticks all the right the boxes in terms of consumer communication/engagement possibilities, says more about BMW’s marketing expertise rather than the campaign itself.

The question remains whether BMW feels that their existing advertising format is tired and this campaign marks a new direction – or whether they perceived a special approach was required to target buyers of the Z4. Either way one can be sure that lessons learnt from this campaign will be incorporated in future campaigns across the range – and we’ll do well to monitor how things progress.