This is confirmed to be real. It's an actual "billboard war" brewing in Santa Monica, California.
Another look.
Seems that Audi first put up the provocative ad as part of its nationwide ad campaign for the A4. Juggernaut Advertising, a creative agency hired by a BMW dealer (Santa Monica BMW) took advantage of the opportunity to do a one-up move to advertise themselves. They even came out with a press release. Note that the ad is commissioned by a BMW dealer and not BMW of America.
I am no marketer / advertising specialist but the campaign comes across to me as being a tad too eager to prove oneself, with a hint of inferiority complex in them. Which is consistent with the sort of having ego-issues, "alpha-males" personalities that a brand like BMW attracts.
The Audi ad was for an A4, but Santa Monica BMW responded with a M3 coupe. Doesn't that seem like an overkill? So BMW have took out all their wares while Audi is still keeping its screaming R8, RS4 and RS5 up in their sleeves. The A4 has already overtaken both the Mercedes-Benz C-class and BMW 3-series as Germany's best selling premium sedan. And Audi is already the leading premium brand in Western Europe and also in China, the world's largest car market. The results speak for themselves and there is no need for Audi of USA to go poking on their Bavarian countrymen's nose.
The entire campaign seem to have benefited Juggernaut Advertising more than BMW. It did raised the ad agency profile, but I am not sure if it raised BMW's profile in any positive way. Fanboys and regular people can comment all they want in blogs and forums, and might find them amusing, but what sort of effect does this have on the MAJORITY of people who ACTUALLY BUY these cars? Is it me or are American car ads really that crude? Even premium ads from Audi and BMW lack the sort of sophistication that we see in Europe, or even Asia.
Press Release from Juggernaut Advertising
Juggernaut Advertising, an independent advertising agency headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, has initiated a tactical outdoor marketing campaign on behalf of BMW of Santa Monica. The campaign is in response to Audi’s current billboards challenging BMW with the headline “Your move, BMW.”
Juggernaut Advertising’s creative work features the BMW M3 with the headline “Checkmate.” and is positioned prominently within the same sightline to westbound traffic as the Audi ad. Juggernaut approached BMW of Santa Monica after identifying a unique and immediate geographical opportunity along the highly trafficked Santa Monica Blvd. corridor between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.
“When we heard the idea, we loved it and couldn’t resist going forward,” says Del Montell, Jr. of Santa Monica BMW.
Images from BMW Blog.
3 comments:
http://www.vimeo.com/4082525
I thought it a bit of fun.
Autoindustrie, this is gonna sound trite but don't lose your sense of humour. Or at least be tolerant of others' humour.
You enjoy Audi's ads which are all elegant, impressive and all that. That's good but those ads are designed to appeal to certain types of people - of which you are apparently one.
Take Mazda's zoom-zoom ads. Some people find them irritating. I actually enjoyed them - especially the first series of ads featuring Mazda as a company or brand.
Its important to have an opinion or an impression, but dont let it stick. It really affects your ability to see things objectively - which you do really well except you tend to let your bias creep in.
Got what you mean.
On a personal level, I too find it amusing. The article above however was written standing in the shoes of a typical upmarket slightly snoobish-elitist 40-year old.
Yea I liked the Zoom-Zoom ads too.
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