Munich/Venice. The new BMW 8 Series Coupe is more
than just a sports car. With this model, BMW gives the luxury segment
a new identity, making automobile dreams come true and creating unique
moments of pleasure. The spectacular TV commercial at the centre of
the market launch campaign for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe takes as its
motif the emotional impact of a completely new mobility experience
that is realised for the first time ever. It shows the luxury sports
car driving through the historical centre of Venice. Driving past
magnificent palazzi and underneath the Rialto bridge, the new BMW 8
Series makes its way along the Canal Grande – a route never before
covered by an automobile. For the driver, whose story is told in the
short film, the childhood dream comes true of driving a car through
Venice; meanwhile viewers are given a whole new perspective on the
lagoon city, featuring moments of driving pleasure in a form that has
never been seen before.
The film, which is directed by Daniel Wolfe and will be shown in
versions lasting 15, 30 and 45 seconds, is about a young Venetian man
who as a child discovers his love of automobiles in general and BMW in
particular. A model BMW M1 becomes his favourite toy, and a
boat-builder friend introduces him to the fascination of engine
technology. But in a city in which boats are the sole means of
transport, his yearning for sheer driving pleasure remains unassuaged,
which is why he leaves Venice as a teenager, not to return until many
years later. And now at last his childhood dream comes true – in the
new BMW 8 Series Coupe and driving on pontoons that pave the way to a
unique automobile trip through the canal network of his home city.
The scenario is symbolic of efforts to make the apparently impossible
come true and turn long-nurtured dreams into reality. “Our models for
the luxury performance segment are geared towards the lifestyle of a
target group that dares to try out new things and go beyond the limits
of feasibility,” ways Uwe Dreher, Director Brand Communication BMW,
BMWi and BMW M. “We offer these individuals a mobility experience that
corresponds to their idea of exclusivity and progressive luxury.”
In order to enable the shoot to take place, the Venice authorities –
for the first time in the city’s history – issued the BMW Group with a
permit to set up a pontoon structure that would allow an automobile to
drive past the world-famous backdrop of the city’s historical centre.
Where gondolas, vaporetti and small motorboats have been the sole
means of transportation for centuries, the new BMW 8 Series Coupe
became a true pioneer of driving pleasure – quite literally striking
out on a new path. The sensational scenes were partially shot using
camera drones; the commercials will be broadcast worldwide on selected
TV channels and also online.
The campaign for the launch of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe was
developed by the BMW Group in collaboration with Serviceplan Campaign
International. It will be backed up by wide-ranging social media
activities on outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. A
feature with background information and impressions of the otherwise
car-free city of Venice as well as a documentary of the film shoot
with the new BMW 8 Series Coupe is also in preparation. “The market
launch campaign for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe expresses not just the
distinctive character of this model but also the emotional power of
our vehicles in the luxury performance segment and innovative strength
of the BMW brand,” says Kirsty Skinner-Gerth, Head of International
Campaigns, Artwork, Film, Entertainment Marketing.
With its spectacular showcasing of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe against
the historical backdrop of Venice, BMW provides a particularly
high-visibility continuation of its recently initiated campaign in the
luxury performance segment. The models in this segment now bear a
newly designed signet along with the company name Bayerischer Motoren
Werke written out in full. The brand’s intensified presence in this
segment is one of the objectives defined by the BMW Group as part of
its corporate strategy NUMBER ONE NEXT to secure sustainable
growth in automobile markets worldwide. In addition to exclusive
vehicles and services, BMW is also creating a world of experience in
the globally expanding luxury performance segment, going far beyond
driving pleasure by providing target groups with unique and inspiring moments.