Tag: Automotive marketing

BMW Films – The Escape

BMW Films has teamed up with Academy Award nominated director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9,” “Elysium”) to create an action-packed short film to promote the new upcoming 2017 BMW 5 Series.

The story centers around a young girl simply named “Five”, played by Dakota Fanning, who is the subject of seemingly illegal experiments.

With the FBI cracking down on the company responsible for such experiments, Oscar nominated actor Clive Owen plays the nameless transporter who is hired to get Five out of there. The action ensues.

Why BMW Films still works as a launch format

This is not a product demo dressed up as content. It is content where the product belongs naturally. The car is not the “message”. It is the tool that makes the story credible.

  • Talent creates attention. Director and cast set a quality bar that feels like entertainment, not advertising.
  • The vehicle role is functional. Driving, control, and decision-making are essential to the plot.
  • Shareability comes from story. People pass it on because it is a short film worth watching, even without shopping intent.

The brand job: make the new 5 Series feel inevitable

When a film like this lands, it does two things at once. It signals confidence and it frames the new model in an emotional territory that spec sheets cannot reach. Capability, composure, speed, control.

The benefit is not that viewers remember a feature. The benefit is that they remember a feeling, and they connect that feeling to the 5 Series before they ever step into a showroom.

What to take from this if you are launching something complex

  1. Earn attention with craft. If you want people to choose long-form, it needs to deserve their time.
  2. Give the product a role, not a cameo. If it does not matter to the plot, it will feel bolted on.
  3. Let story carry the distribution. The strongest paid media is the one you do not need because people share it anyway.
  4. Build a universe, not a one-off. Formats like BMW Films work best when audiences expect the next chapter.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “BMW Films: The Escape”?

It is a branded short action film created to promote the upcoming 2017 BMW 5 Series, directed by Neill Blomkamp and starring Clive Owen and Dakota Fanning.

Why use a short film instead of a classic launch ad?

Because story earns time and attention. It creates emotional association and premium perception that traditional product messaging often cannot deliver on its own.

What is the product role of the BMW 5 Series in this format?

The car functions as an essential tool in the narrative. It supports the transporter premise and makes the action feel credible, rather than serving as a standalone showcase.

What makes branded entertainment feel “credible”?

High production quality, real creative talent, and a story where the brand presence is natural and necessary, not forced.

What is the practical takeaway for launch teams?

If you want to use long-form content, design it as entertainment first, then embed the product so it belongs, and the attention will travel further.

Porsche: Interactive Hologram Print Ad

To launch its latest 911, Porsche created a print ad that behaves like a device. Working with agency Cramer-Krasselt, Porsche placed a small acetate sheet into Fast Company’s April issue, turning a magazine spread into a build-it-yourself prism and an interactive “hologram” experience.

The execution ran as a four-page spread inserted into around 50,000 copies, complete with assembly directions. Porsche billed it as the world’s first interactive hologram print ad.

When a magazine page turns into a viewing tool

The mechanic is the whole point. You fold the acetate into a small prism, place it on top of a tablet, then use the screen content to create the floating 3D-style illusion inside the prism. Print does not “show” the car. Print enables the car to appear.

That shift matters. Instead of asking a reader to imagine innovation, the ad makes them assemble it, which turns curiosity into action.

In premium automotive marketing, making print behave like a device is a fast way to earn attention from audiences who think they have seen every format.

Why the prism matters more than the hologram

The hologram effect is a spectacle, but the prism is the message. It signals precision, engineering, and fascination through the act of building. It also gives the reader a reason to keep the insert, show someone else, and replay the experience, which is exactly what print needs when attention is scarce.

What Porsche is really buying

The business intent is to make a high-end model launch feel as advanced as the product story. A conventional print page can carry features and beauty. This format carries a proof point. Porsche can credibly say, “We pushed the medium,” and that halo transfers to “we pushed the car.”

What to steal for your next “impossible in print” idea

  • Make the reader do one small action. Folding beats scanning when you want ritual, not convenience.
  • Let print enable the experience. The page becomes the trigger, not the canvas.
  • Keep the rules idiot-proof. If assembly fails, the entire idea fails.
  • Use scarcity and selectivity. A targeted drop can feel more premium than mass coverage.

A few fast answers before you act

What is an “interactive hologram print ad”?

It is a print ad that includes a physical component, in this case an acetate prism, that turns a tablet screen into a hologram-style viewing effect. The print unit is the enabling tool.

How does the prism create the hologram effect?

The prism reflects and refracts imagery from the screen into a floating illusion. The viewer sees the content “inside” the prism rather than flat on the tablet.

Why put this in a business magazine like Fast Company?

Because the audience expects innovation and is more likely to try a format experiment. It also gives the stunt credibility as “design and tech”, not just “advertising.”

What is the biggest execution risk?

Friction. If instructions are unclear, materials are flimsy, or setup takes too long, people drop the experience before the payoff.

What should you measure for a print-to-device activation?

Completion rate of the build, repeat views, sharing behavior, and brand recall lift versus a standard print placement. The real KPI is whether the mechanic gets retold accurately.