Tag Archives: 2019

Editorial

The 15 Best BMW Commercial Ads of the Decade

The 2010s were a big decade for BMW that saw some major firsts — like the first fully electric models to come to market — and the 100th anniversary of the company’s founding. Over these last 10 years, the German automaker also produced a lot of ads — a few of which stood out more than others.

Here is our roundup of the 15 best BMW commercials of the decade.

15. Are We There Yet?

This ad from 2019 is a look back through time at some of the highlights of BMW, like the first electric version, the M1 and the company’s 2014 design for the U.S. bobsledding team. The commercial also looks to the future and drops some visuals of what to expect in the next decade.

14. BMW X5: The Back-Backseat Driver

This humorous ad from BMW is all about the X5, an SUV big enough to fit both backseat drivers and back-backseat drivers — like the grandmother featured in the commercial, who tells slightly exaggerated stories about her past.

13. The Destination

One of the many BMW ads to play on memory and nostalgia, this commercial — created for the 2017 Road Home sales event — shows the kinds of memories you can make in a BMW, or, how it’s not all about the destination.

12. Like New Again

Many of BMW’s ads toward the end of the decade had the company looking backward for inspiration. One of the best examples of this is the ads from the Like New Again campaign. It riffed off of six years’ worth of BMW commercials and ads — TV spots, radio ads and flyers — to promote certified preowned BMWs.

The campaign was clever, but maybe a little too self-aware for its own good.

11. Mini 2016 Super Bowl Spot

This Super Bowl Spot, the last we’ve seen so far from BMW, promotes the label-defying Mini. The ad is probably best remembered for its interesting celebrity lineup, which included appearances from Serena Williams, T-Pain, Harvey Keitel and Tony Hawk.

10. BMW i3: Newfangled Idea

Another ad playing off the newness of electric vehicles, this Super Bowl Spot from 2015 brought together former “Today” show hosts Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. They compared the launch of EVs to other new ideas, like the internet back in the ‘90s, with the tagline, “big ideas take a little getting used to.”

9. BMW and Spotify Collab

In 2019, BMW teamed up with Spotify to curate the perfect BMW-themed driving playlists. All in all, the company put together enough music to back 85 hours of driving. The collaboration also included unique, in-app visuals from New Zealand artists designed to be paired with the music.

8. This BMW Drunk Driving PSA

This print PSA from BMW about drunk driving created a lot of buzz, for better or worse, and briefly reignited the conversation around social drinking and drunk driving.

7. BMW i: Drive the Future

One of the biggest developments of the past decade was the rise and regular advertisement of electric vehicles. This ad, from late 2018, uses slick, glossy visuals and a sophisticated voice-over to associate BMW’s line of hybrids and all-electric vehicles with the future.

6. BMW Accelerate

This bold print ad campaign from BMW South Africa takes full advantage of some gorgeous wide shots to show the kind of distance you can cover with a BMW S 1000 RR motorcycle. This bike accelerates from 0 to 100 in just three seconds.

5. BMW’s Crying Billboard

This innovative ad uses a unique billboard design that captures rain and causes the face on the advertisement to start crying. It may be a bit of a stretch to call the billboard effective — it’s not exactly clear what’s being advertised, other than BMW — but it is certainly different.

4. BMW’s Night Vision Billboards

This spot is definitely the highest-tech ad on the list, and possibly one of the highest-tech campaigns you’ve probably ever seen.

BMW wanted to reduce the number of crashes caused by wildlife on remote Austrian roads. It designed a night-vision billboard, based on the same tech used by its cars’ night-vision cameras, to help drivers spot deer planning to cross the highway.

According to BMW, not a single crash happened while the boards were up.

3. Retrospect

To celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, BMW commissioned this nostalgic ad about the past — and how, as it says, “Memories never age.”

2. BMW X7: Legend

This spot, one of the last few of the decade, used lush storybook and fantasy visuals to show off the X7, BMW’s 2019 full-size luxury SUV. It’s probably the most dense and complicated BMW ad of the 2010s, and one of the brand’s few ads to rely heavily on CGI.

1. The Small Escape

The Small Escape was one of the last BMW ads of the decade and almost certainly the most cinematic. The commercial, which is better described as a short film, is a dramatized retelling of escape from East to West Berlin using a classic 1955 BMW Isetta — a 13-horsepower car that could barely seat two passengers.

The short film also hooked into a larger ad campaign, including an article that tells the full story of the escape.

Rounding up BMW’s Best Ads From the 2010s

The last decade has been big for BMW. Over the past 10 years, the company used most of its advertising to look back to the company’s past but also to look forward to new technology, like electric vehicles.

Now, there’s no telling where the brand will go in the 2020s. If they’re anything like the 2010s, though, BMW will be looking for ways to advertise both its history and its future.

Information

What Will 2019 Look Like for BMW?

If you’re looking for innovation in the automotive industry for the coming model year, you usually don’t have to look any further than BMW’s new lineup. This automotive giant is always looking for ways to improve their existing models or create something the world has never seen before. Let’s take a closer look at what the future is looking like for BMW in 2019.

Already Released

A few models are already on the market, which is just the tip of the iceberg since BMW is planning on launching an astonishing 20 new models in the next two years alone. The already-released vehicles include:

  • 8-Series Coupe: First on the block is the new 8-Series Coupe. This sleek beauty will have all the bells and whistles, from a comfortable interior and full entertainment center to a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 engine under the hood that generates 523 horsepower. This is the first time we’ve seen an 8-series car in nearly 20 years, and it will burn a $112,000 hole in your pocket.
  • X5 SUV: The first entirely new model BMW has released is the X5 SUV. This is the 4th generation of the X5 and will have two engine options: a turbo V6 or a V8, depending on your needs. It’s also been changed to use BMW’s CLAR (Cluster Architecture) system, which incorporates carbon fiber, steel and aluminum in the body of the vehicle and works with an electric drivetrain and plug-in hybrid engine styles.

Upcoming

While you can find the Coupe and SUV models on the showroom floor of your local BMW dealership, we’re most excited about the new ones, which include:

  • The Z4: The first new model that should be coming out soon is a two-seater sports car that has been dubbed the Z4. It shares a chassis with the Toyota Supra but will be equipped with a 3.0L twin-turbo straight six engine. While we don’t have any specifics on the exact output of this straight six engine, it’s estimated that it will generate somewhere between 360 and 380 horsepower.
  • The Upgraded X1: The now three-year-old X1 is also getting a makeover in the upcoming year, both inside and out. The exterior is being reworked slightly with changes to the front and rear fascia. The interior will now come equipped with BMW’s infotainment system. The engine options will also be somewhat different to help improve gas mileage and emissions.
  • The X2: The M35i is also getting an upgrade with the new X2 model. With a turbo 4-cylinder engine, it’s expected to be able to do zero to 60 in less than five seconds with a top speed of 155 miles per hour.

This is just a small sample of the dozen or more new and upgraded models that are expected to hit the showroom floor in the next two years.

Industry Trends

As usual, BMW is also at the leading edge of exciting industry trends like electric cars. The automotive giant is planning to mass-produce electric vehicles by 2020, a full two years ahead of Mercedes.

Advances in window tint and film are making BMWs even more comfortable than they already are. Some newer styles can block up to 92 percent of UV light and come completely clear, making it possible to apply them to the front windshield and the windows.

The next two years are looking bright for BMW — we can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

Events

An M8 Competition Is in the Works – Here’s What We Know

BMW hasn’t officially announced it yet, but it seems an M8 Competition— a sportier version of the M8 — is in the works.

According to BMWBLOG, BMW recently invited some VIP customers to preview several upcoming models at an event in Paris. Cell phone use wasn’t allowed at the event, so we don’t have any pictures, but a reader of BMWBLOG shared some details with the site about what he saw at the event.

The reader told the publication that BMW is planning an M8 competition. Although this isn’t really a surprise to anyone who’s been following BMW, it’s certainly still exciting news.

What Do We Know?

So what do we know about this upcoming model? While we don’t have any official information, here’s what the report from the Paris event and other rumors and speculations tell us.

According to the attendee of the Paris event, the M8 Competition will come standard with carbon ceramic brakes and yellow calipers. It will get a carbon fiber package that lowers the weight of the vehicle slightly and enhances its visuals.

BMW didn’t share what the power output of the M8 Competition will be, but it’s expected that BMW will increase it for the sports model. All of the models in the M family feature a 4.4 liter V8 TwinTurbo engine, so the M8 Competition will likely have it as well. The engine of the M5 Competition has a peak torque of 553 lb-ft, which is the same as that of the standard M5.

BMW may use the same formula for the M8 Competition, although it will likely modify the power band. The competition will likely have the same engine as the regular M8 but be able to deliver a bit more horsepower. According to BMWBLOG, we can expect around 620 horsepower, although it could potentially be more.

Currently, the best 8 series model can hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. With the M8 Competition, that time will likely drop by at least a few tenths of a second. The M8 Competition may be able to surpass 155 mph, according to speculations from topspeed.com. According to TopSpeed, it’s also reasonable to think the M8 Competition could reach speeds of 62 mph in less than three seconds due to its lighter weight and increased power.

While we don’t know exactly what to expect, we’ll likely see a number of other changes, perhaps including improvements to the transmission and all-wheel drive system. Based on the changes made to previous Competition models, we might also see new chassis and suspension components that will serve to improve the car’s handling.

A user also recently posted on the Bimmerpost forum what appears to be leaked documents showing the badges for several upcoming BMW models including the M8 Competition.

Anticipation Building for the M8 Competition

Excitement is building for the M8 Competition, and although we don’t have any official details, we have plenty of predictions about what the car will be like.

BMW fans are also excited about the other upcoming 8 Series models. The company has unveiled the M850i xDrive Coupe, teased an M8 Gran Coupe Concept and confirmed rumors of an upcoming M8 Coupe. The new BMW 8 Series, it seems, will soon be joined by a full-blown M8 and an M8 Competition, which is expected to launch in 2019 or 2020.

It’s going to be an exciting few years for BMW fans, especially those that like the sporty M models. The M8 Competition could turn out to the best most impressive M model from BMW yet.