I thought it was very clever. But frankly, I would have preferred to see what the new BMW Z4 sports car looks like because however pretty the picture in this ad and however creative the concept might be, it still left me wondering what the damn car looked like.
Now the problem I have with commenting on BMW advertising is that having worked for the company for so long, whether I say I like an ad or hate it, I always get accused of being biased either because I suffer from the 'things were always better when I was there' syndrome or because I am seen to be a die-hard, loyal BMW old boy. Which I am, very much so, in spite of the fact that I drive a Merc.
So, what I have done is e-mail half a dozen marketers, some corporate, some independent, some in the motor industry and most not. But all very experienced. They wouldn't comment unless I promised anonimity as all them either have motor industry clients, ad agency clients, or the like. And frankly, I have found it quite refreshing being able to quote anonymous sources when virtually all the criticism of what I write on this site comes anonymously.
Anyway, the reactions of my highly experienced but anonymous marketers were all pretty similar. They believe the ad is basically crap.
When I explained the bit about sitting back from the ad to really get the picture, they all said that first of all newspaper readers don't bother to put their newspapers down on the floor and get on ladders or chairs to try and work things out.
They also said that readers, viewers and listeners, simply did not have the time or inclination in today's ad-cluttered and busy world, to work anything out even it did not mean having to climb onto chairs and ladders.
Two or three mentioned that the ad was clearly contrived to fit in with the slogan for campaigns on the new Z4 - 'The Sum Of All The Senses'. They suggested that in conceiving the ad, that line might well have been the departure point.
But all of them, young and old, asked the question I have been asking for years ...why is it that motor car manufacturers seem to avoid at all costs actually showing in ads what their products look like?
I must say no-one was particularly complimentary. The most concise reaction being 'I thought it was a creative wank!' Even for Z4 drivers. It took me a more than a little intuition and even more time that the average reader (even allowing for post- or pre-purchase interest) to work out the outline of a woman's body, back and curves.
'It does sweet nothing to brand build and is a creative indulgence wasting the client's money and contributing nothing to brand equity. I suppose a novel alternative to the nude on the bonnet of a Lotus...'
From my point of view, this ad would work if it was part of a far wider campaign involving TV and radio particularly. And then only if the TV showed what the car looked like and the radio explained what made it better than anything else on the roads.
But, just on its own, it doesn't make sense at all, not economically and not from a marketing perspective.
