78 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
78 lines
3.7 KiB
Plaintext
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SUBJECT: CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE BMW KIND FILE: UFO3186
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Close encounter is of the BMW kind
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03/15/93
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Advertising Age
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JOHANNESBURG - An unearthly hoax cooked up as part of a new BMW
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ad generated $1 million worth of publicity in one week for a
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campaign budgeted at $500,000 for the entire year.
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For BMW South Africa Pty., it was a clever ruse to augment a
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rather slim budget.
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BMW's close encounter with the media began when the company,
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known for teaser ads in which its logo slowly evolves from an
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unrelated shape, began looking for both a new execution and a way
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to get the biggest bang out of its budget.
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"We wanted to get the maximum exposure with the minimum spent,"
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said Tony Granger, art director at Hunt Lascaris TBWA, BMW's
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agency.
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Added Deon Ebersohn, media liaison manager for BMW South Africa:
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"Hunt Lascaris has proved to be very good at getting lots of
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mileage for a small expenditure."
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This time, Hunt Lascaris hit on the idea of CRAFTING THE BMW
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LOGO IN A FIELD OF RYE OUTSIDE JOHANNESBURG AND DRAWING ATTENTION
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TO THE MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENON BY PLACING CALLS TO THE MEDIA
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INTIMATING IT WAS CAUSED BY A UFO.
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BMW's crop circle was intended to be a takeoff on that
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phenomenon in the U.K., where thousands of perfect circles have
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been formed in farmers' fields. UFOs have generally been given
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credit for flattening the grain, and while pranksters later
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admitted they made some of the corn circles, many remain
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unexplained.
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For BMW, the goal was to make its rye circle the centerpiece of
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both a rumor in the media and the car company's new TV and print
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campaign, themed "Perhaps there is intelligent life out there after
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all."
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Because of its round shape, "the BMW logo lent itself so well to
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the circle idea, it just seemed natural," Mr. Granger said.
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Calls to talk shows and newspapers touched off a WEEKLONG WAVE
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OF NATIONAL PUBLICITY AND SPECULATION that ended only after the BMW
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commercial broke Feb. 14.
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The farmer, who was paid $10,000 for use of his field, gave at
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least four different versions of his "discovery" of the circle
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during interviews with journalists.
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BMW also didn't give a clue. The few people who recognized a
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familiar shape in the circle and called the car company were given
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no comment, Mr. Ebersohn said.
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Finally, BMW's campaign, consisting of a single print and TV ad,
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revealed the ploy.
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The 65-second final product is a melange of daredevil zooms and
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spins, giving glimpses of parts of the BMW logo, accompanied by
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space age-style music written by South African composer Rob
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Schroeder. Then the entire logo, flattened in the rye, is revealed
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while the voice-over intones the only words: "Perhaps there is
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intelligent life out there after all." It's expected to run
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throughout the year without variation.
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This isn't the first time BMW has used a surprise in ads. Last
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year's effort for "BMW Mercury" spot from Hunt Lascaris won a Gold
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Lion at the International Advertising Film Festival in Cannes.
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The commercial showed a close-up of a drop of mercury slowly
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rolling over part of a nude body. When the drop finally stops, it
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transforms itself into the BMW logo.
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"BMW is a very brave client," said Hunt Lascaris copywriter
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Matthew Bull. "The crazier the idea, the more unsafe, the more they
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love it, the more they get turned on."
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Mr. Ebersohn said the agency is "always coming up with ideas
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that we think can't possibly work. But we have listened to them,
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taken a chance and it's paid off every time."
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*********************************************************************
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* -------->>> THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo <<<------- *
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*********************************************************************
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