Do you remember the BMW Films ad campaign from 2001 and 2002? Online action films selling cars!
The series of eight short films was titled The Hire, starring Clive Owen as “The Driver,” with each installment directed by a top-list filmmaker. Each short involved Owen as a mercenary hired to deliver or transport a person or item, completing the task while showing off the capabilities of a BMW automobile.
Evidently, BMW thought the time was right to revive such a campaign because Owen is back as The Driver and covert car salesman. On Oct. 23, BMW Films will roll out The Escape. A teaser debuted on Tuesday, which showed some clips from the short, behind-the-scenes footage, and glimpses of Owen, Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Dakota Fanning and director Neill Blomkamp (District 9). Take a look.
https://youtu.be/hNDgwzpIE6c
Bringing back the BMW Films series seems like a great idea. Really, a campaign like this could do even better now than 14 years ago with streaming content and online clips such a regular part of our culture. If The Escape has as much star power as The Hire did, it’s not difficult to imagine these films becoming viral sensations.
The eight filmmakers involved in the original project were Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie, John Frankenheimer, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Joe Carnahan and John Frankenheimer. Other actors joining Owen in the series included Gary Oldman, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, F. Murray Abraham and Madonna. Hey, she was married to Guy Ritchie at the time. Here’s their film, “Star.”
If you’re wondering whether or not these short films actually help sell cars, BMW reported a 12 percent increase in sales during 2001. The series itself was also far more successful than anticipated, exceeding a projected two million views to draw over 100 million. The eight films were also compiled into a DVD, available to fans at select dealerships or for online purchase. BMW took the films down and discontinued the DVDs in 2005.
No word yet on how many films will be part of this new series, or which other filmmakers might be involved. It seems unlikely this would be a one-shot, but BMW did shutter the original series because of expenses, so perhaps the automaker and its filmmaking arm won’t be quite as ambitious this time around.
The Escape debuts at BMWFilms.com on Oct. 23, and you’ll surely be able to view it at plenty of other places online.
