BMW thought the best online advertising campaign for the i3 electric vehicle would be to record the genuine reactions of people test driving the car. The carmaker invited 45 teams (107 people in total) to test-drive a BMW i3 in Berlin, London and Madrid and filmed them during the drive.
This resulted in over 30 hours of footage, from which the most entertaining scenes were extracted and edited for use on the online ad platform.
The test-drivers were people with no prior experience of electric vehicles: couples, families, friends, students and co-workers, aged between 20 and 65. Even a Hollywood star, American actor and producer Josh Hartnett, who was also filmed during his first BMW i3 experience.
“We realised right away, after the first test-drives, that we should utilize the excitement of BMW i3 test-drivers for a really authentic and unique form of communication,” said Dr. Steven Althaus, head of BMW Brand Management and Marketing Services BMW Group. That’s because BMW believes un-staged situations and unscripted dialogue “convey the authentic reactions and enthusiasm of drivers and their passengers.”
Head past the jump to see how excited people were when driving the BMW i3 for the first time.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO