"Joy is BMW" - Advertising Review

"The Ultimate Driving Machine" has been synonymous with BMW for decades, but BMW's latest ad campaign de-emphasizes that well-loved slogan for the moment (they claim they are not abandoning it entirely) in favor of "Joy is BMW."

Naturally, the Bavarian automaker has gotten a huge amount of flak for this move from various people whose opinions I respect a lot.  In particular, Peter DeLorenzo (aka the autoextremist) devoted his column this week to lambasting BMW for their boneheadedness.  While many of Peter's points are on the money - namely the fact that they have over-broadened their product offerings to include bloated SUVs, the inexplicable and unforgivable X6 and other non sport-sedans, I thoroughly disagree with his assessment of the commercial itself.  De Lorenzo claims that the ad is bland, and could have been made by any car company - even KIA.  Makes me wonder if I saw the same ad that he did. I don't think KIA can show legions of fans polishing vintage examples of its cars, or classic roadsters like the 507 and Z8 in  its ads.  In the new Joy commercial, BMW's history, design culture, and performance capability are all well captured in a package that I could relate to as a car nut, but also which I think other people could find eye-opening.  The ad showcases some of BMW's most forward thinking designs (such as the Gina concept) while touting their genuine following among enthusiasts with footage of BMW car club events.

  In contrast to what the autoextremist says, I think that this is a refreshing step away from the overserious, monochromatic luxury sport sedan commercials -Stock white yuppie with sunglasses driving on deserted road- that BMW has been doing for years and years. The core of most German luxury sedan advertising has been about Engineering, Quality, and driving Performance enabled by advanced technology.  In this respect BMW's message has been lost in the swirl of identical claims by Audi, Mercedes, and of course Lexus and the rest of the Asian luxury companies. This standard format has gotten tired, and I believe most people have learned to tune it out by now.  Just as Cadillac radically altered their image a few years back in order to forge a more relevant brand identity, I don't think BMW is amiss in taking a different tack here.  I don't think they should abandon "the Ultimate Driving Machine" (which is originally a line from a Pontiac GTO ad, mind you) but grow upon that and make the brand come alive more by appealing to the emotion as much as the logic of the target customer.  So in my opinion this ad is successful in being disruptive, and making the viewer pay attention to the message that BMW is sending through Patrick Stewart's silky voiceover: Our cars are exhilarating to drive, technologically advanced, heirs to a noble legacy, and people of all stripes love owning them.  Perhaps the mood of the commercial is overly jubilant, but so what? I like it. It's bright, optimistic and inclusive.  I think it would have been just as effective though, had they kept the "Ultimate Driving Machine" tagline in the voiceover at the end.
What do you think? Watch the commercial below, and contrast with the previous style of BMW ad beneath.

Comments

[ETANQ]

well - I am an always-fan of Patrick Stewart, even in his almost unforgivable role in the TV movie adaptation of King Lear, called "King of Texas." But even without him I like the new tone, too. The only danger it carries with it for BMW is that it is kind of populist. Luxury car brands have been cultivating their image of exclusivity for such a long time that a departure like this could be seen as an attempt by BMW to bring their brand "down" to the level of Toyota and Ford - or rather Ford-sans-images-of-mid-American-farmland. This new strategy is definitely becoming part of the new advertising climate for luxury items (probably brought about by the recession) that seeks to give potential consumers reasons to splurge. The new Audi commercial about trite cultural expectations ("I have been told to desire red Italian sports cars...." etc.) tries to strike the same note, actually, but ends up being REALLY stupid. Audi merely replaces tired examples of desirable automobiles (a red Ferrari coupe, a beige crossover SUV, a silver Lexus sedan) with its own shiny black versions of cars of the same kind. Not much of a cultural critique if you ask me. At least the BMW ad you've brought to our attention does indeed change the images of both its products and the targeted customers.