BMW takes us on a journey through the automaker’s unparalleled legacy of innovation. The premium automaker has been driving future car technologies, from the first electric BMW ever built to the electric vehicles of the future, for the last 100 years.

Directed by Mark Jenkinson, the ad showcases the innovative spirit of the brand while posing the question “Are we there yet?” without answering it. Instead the spot concludes with the line “Not every journey has an end,” showcasing BMW’s iterative philosophy; they will always keep innovating the Ultimate Driving Machine.

The story begins in 1972 with a field test of the first fully electric BMW, the 1602 Elektro-Antrieb. We see the car pacing a group of runners as a team of BMW engineers is monitoring the battery. In the next scene, a few years have passed, and a reporter is on her way to witness the 1979 BMW M1 at a racetrack. Throughout the spot we get to see the revolutionary BMW Hydrogen 7 from 2005, a BMW-designed bobsled for Team USA, The first BMW Formula E race car and the brand-new electric concept vehicle, the BMW Vision M NEXT, among other innovations.

The spot is set to AC/DC’s rock classic “Thunderstruck” to further underline BMW’s legacy in electric—a journey that started way back in the ’70s.

Released: September 2019

Tags:

San Francisco, BMW

The path to owning a luxury vehicle had always been the same. You went to a good school, got a good job, worked hard and saved. And then, once you reached a later stage in life, you could finally buy that German five-speed you’d always dreamed of.

Well, this year that changed. Because this year, BMW released the first-ever 2 Gran Coupe—an affordable four-door with all the styling, performance and features you’d expect in a BMW. A luxury vehicle for a new generation that pushes against the entire luxury auto establishment as we know it. So rather than talk about the 2 Gran Coupe itself, we introduced “option 2”—a choice to reject society’s expectations and rules (“option 1”) and instead forge your own way forward in life.

Manifested as a film, “Option 2” is a carefully crafted reflection of challenging the status quo. Each member of the cast was chosen for their boundary-pushing lifestyle, from artist trio Dear Ribane to electronic musician Merry Lamb Lamb to male pole dancer Dreger Robin Werner. Even the music is unconventional, featuring a Gqom track by South African producer DJ Lag created specifically for the piece.

Released: March 2020

Tags:

San Francisco, BMW

What happens when social distancing forces us to rethink a romantic night out? Well, The Ultimate Driving Machine morphs into The Ultimate “Drive-In” Machine, of course. From BMW and GS&P, comes a heartwarming story aimed to inspire quarantined couples across the globe. 

Released: June 2020

Tags:

San Francisco, BMW