James Brown with Clive Owen in Beat the Devil. In this ballistic BMW short film directed by Tony Scott, the Godfather of Soul wagers that his driver can beat Satan’s doorman (played by Danny Trejo) in a drag race. The prize? Another 50 years in the business
When it comes to automotive advertising, or branded film in general, BMW series The Hire is without equal. The concept was tight – sending mysterious Driver (Clive Owen) on a series of tense missions – but each in-demand director had the budget and freedom to impress their visual style and sensibility. From Wong Kar Wai’s wistful romanticism in The Follow to Tony Scott’s high-octane action and trippy flash cuts in Beat the Devil. Each story revealed a different nuance to Owen’s character.
Series one of these ‘webisodes’ was released on bmwfilms.com in 2001 – targeted at a core audience that was used to researching their next model online. A smaller second season followed the next year, wooing film critics at Cannes. A DVD collection was also produced for owners to order, and to promote the vehicles at dealerships.
BMW flipped the traditional approach by spending 90% of the budget on production and 10% on paid media. The Wire was advertised through a mix of direct marketing, in magazines, using TV trailers (just like the movies) and OOH (Out of Home) as well as on a DirecTV channel.
But with no social media or YouTube to help build or sustain hype. And yet, according to BMW Blog, the films were viewed 11 million times in four months, and sales went up by 17% between 2000 and 2002. When BMW Films hit the brakes, these films had clocked up more than 100 million views. Fourteen years later, Clive Owen would reprise his role in a short co-written and directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) who was in awe of the series as a film student.
Beyond notable names and numbers, these films made a huge impression because they packed so much story into a handful of minutes using a wide palette of emotions. How quickly they build tension by withholding information, and yet the characters manage to establish themselves through short lines and gestures.
I used to work as a content editor on the Lexus account in London. We would often hear the phrase “the car is the star”. Not so in The Hire. The stars (and directors) are the stars and the cars are in service of each film.
In the context of branded content, I would argue this was the first time that viewers had experienced the concentrated power of cinematic storytelling from their computers (albeit in mpeg4 instead of 4k). Look at the dramatic and suspenseful storylines involving a mysterious child monk, a strange briefcase, a deal with the devil, molecular genetics gone rogue… These shorts went way beyond product placement.
What better way to convey the joy of owning a BMW than to show the “Ultimate Driving Machine” pushed to its limits on dangerous missions? A series of fantasy scenarios that the target audience could lose themselves in. The Hire was entertainment first, message second. It shifted the mindset of marketers and showed what’s possible if you’re brave, bold and have the budget. And in a full-circle moment, Owen’s brooding Driver even inspired a feature film character, Transporter.
BMW’s films were also a decent dress rehearsal for a certain British spy but, despite lots of speculation, Owen missed out on the iconic role. He’s not bitter though, saying that “Bond was the best thing that never happened to me.” That’s because within a few years of playing Driver for some of the biggest directors on the planet, he was starring in big-budget King Arthur, working with Spike Lee (Inside Man), Robert Altman (Gosford Park) and Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men). He’s good.
Watch all the films here, upscaled to 4k by superfan YouTuber SuperWind.
And here’s a useful case study from a marketing perspective.