Munich. With just weeks to go before the
seventh-generation BMW 5 Series Sedan reaches dealerships on February
11, 2017, international communications are entering a decisive stage.
At the center of the campaign is the new TV commercial featuring
Hollywood’s Scott Eastwood.
Global segment leader: the BMW 5 Series.
With about 7.9 million units sold, the BMW 5 Series is one of BMW’s
core model series. The sixth generation alone was chosen by more than
2.1 million customers, making it the global leader of the premium
upper mid-size segment.
The seventh-generation BMW 5 Series is now set to retain this lead.
With even further enhanced driving dynamics, an unparalleled range of
assistance systems, unique connectivity and intuitive controls, it
sets new standards in the automotive world. Features include the
Intelligent Voice Assistant, gesture control and the BMW Head-Up
Display – now with a 70 percent larger projection area. In combination
with the services of BMW Connected and other innovations, such as
On-Street Parking Information and Remote 3D View, they make the new
BMW 5 Series Sedan the ultimate business automobile.
Comprehensive digital pre-launch communications.
The current campaign has already been under way since 2016, with
comprehensive pre-launch activities in more than 40 markets around the
world. Focusing primarily on digital channels, communications are in
keeping with the BMW 5 Series’ pioneering role in connectivity and
digitalization. Numerous teasers relating to BMW Connected and
partially automated driving immediately attracted attention,
highlighting the innovations in the new BMW 5 Series. Just the very
first posts of the current campaign generated more than 18 million
contacts on Facebook and over 24 million on Instagram.
An additional component of the primarily digital campaign is the
revival of the film series The Hire on BMWFilms.com. After a 15-year break, the latest
offering is now The Escape, the work of the Oscar-nominated director
Neill Blomkamp. The online film includes dramatic chase scenes
featuring the new BMW 5 Series Sedan, with cult driver Clive Owen at
the wheel once again. Shortly after going online, the newcomer had
been seen in action by over 5.5 million fans on YouTube. Press
responses were positive throughout and these alone reached over 125
million people around the world.
“BMW Films has a real presence in the social web and is the perfect
example of the way authentic content marketing can organically support
and extend a product campaign,” explains Hildegard Wortmann, Head of
the BMW Brand.
Meanwhile, in the non-digital world, ‘closed rooms’ in more than 70
cities around the world attracted over 70,000 visitors, who were keen
to see the design and technical features of the new business sedan for themselves.
BUSINESS ATHLETE.
Running under the slogan BUSINESS ATHLETE, the communications
campaign is now entering a decisive stage. The new BMW 5 Series Sedan
is about the excitement of unprecedented connectivity and further
enhanced driving dynamics, and has everything it needs to take the
business class by storm: it is, quite simply, the BUSINESS ATHLETE.
Communications focus on innovation, dynamism, business class and
driving pleasure, emphasizing them to varying degrees in different
markets around the world.
A key element in the campaign is, of course, actor and director Scott
Eastwood. Scott is a fresh, young testimonial, and his ambition and
dynamism are the perfect match for the new BMW 5 Series Sedan.
Collaborations with Scott Eastwood will cover not only classic TV
advertising but also a range of online formats.
In the TV commercials, which are 30 and 45 seconds long, the BMW 5
Series asserts its strong character, unswerving in the pursuit of its
chosen path in life. Both vehicle and driver press ahead relentlessly,
with a keen spirit and clear focus. The message of the commercials is
complemented by a tag-on introducing the plug-in hybrid BMW 530e
iPerformance, and with it the attributes of sustainability and technology.
“The key messages of our commercial are clear: success has to be
earned. Never rest on your laurels,” explains Hildegard Wortmann, Head
of the BMW Brand. “That’s as true of the new BMW 5 Series as it is of
Scott Eastwood. And it’s just one of the reasons the two go together
so well.”
Scott Eastwood: “I have been a fan of BMW for many years, and it
was a great experience working with their creative team on this campaign.”
Filmed in and around Los Angeles in the USA, the commercial was
created by the award-winning director Alex Feil.
The cooperation with Scott Eastwood has also been extended to cover a
series of additional digital short films, including one witty short
explaining the new Remote 3D View feature. Other assets will be
distributed across online and social media channels channel-specifically.
At the same time, the marketing campaign around the new BMW 5 Series
Sedan marks the launch of BMW’s updated CI and of its new imagery,
which is designed to highlight fully the aesthetics, dynamism and
innovative charisma of the new model. Titles such as “Success isn’t
inherited. It has to be earned” and “Built to outperform” underscore
the ambitions and aspirations of the business sedan, while innovations
such as the Touch Display are presented in additional films.
The campaign “BUSINESS ATHLETE” will be adapted for use in more than
40 countries around the world. In Germany, the campaign is launching
under the slogan “DIE EROBERUNG DER DIGITALEN WELT” (“Conquering the
digital world”).
Advertising agencies:
International lead agency: Jung von Matt (Alster), Hamburg
For further information, please contact:
BMW Group Corporate Communications
Bernhard Ederer
Business and Finance Communications, Press Spokesperson BMW Group
Marketing and BMW Sales Germany
Telephone: +49-89-382-28556
Email: Bernhard.Ederer@bmwgroup.com
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and
145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial
year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues amounting to €
92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce
of 122,244 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
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