The Article, “A Lion With Buffalo Horns? Must Be the New BMW Campaign” by Jane L. Levere, appeared in the Media & Advertising section of The New York Times on August 8, 2011.

The North American division of BMW Group Financial Services is turning to humor and social media to promote its extended vehicle protection services.

The division offers North American BMW owners an extended vehicle protection plan that guarantees 100 percent original BMW replacement parts plus benefits like 24-hour BMW roadside assistance and protection of vehicle resale value. There are three versions of the protection plan, all geared toward BMW owners, not individuals who lease them. BMW Group Financial Services is a subsidiary of BMW AG in Munich.

The company has turned to the New York office of G2 USA, part of the WPP Group, to create the campaign, which uses make-believe animals, like a lion with water buffalo horns, to depict the authenticity of its services; the animals were created with computer-generated imagery by New York-based QuietMan. Media include videos, online advertising and print ads.

One video, which spoofs “BBC Earth” programs, shows an Emperor penguin in a large group of penguins, surrounded by ice and snow. Speaking in a posh British accent, the narrator says, “In Antarctica, the coldest place on earth, King Penguins gather together. Penguins rely on vocal calls alone for identification.”

A penguin with a toucan’s bill walks into the group of Emperor penguins; the narrator then says, “These animals use a ... oh oh, come on!” There is a “bleep” when he asks what type of animal this is.

As the “poucan” waddles along, the narrator says, “Well, I suppose in life, some things just aren’t natural.”

The voiceover then suggests, “Keep your BMW as nature intended with 100 percent original BMW parts and services. Ask your BMW Center about BMW Extended Vehicle Protection.”

Another video shows a moving vehicle, from the driver’s perspective, on an animal safari, with commentary by a husband and wife. They come across a lion with buffalo horns. The husband asks his wife, “Sweetheart, do you see that buffalo over there?” The wife says, “Looks more like a lion to me, honey.” They go back and forth about whether it is a lion or a buffalo until the husband says, “Can we just compromise?”

The wife responds, “Fine ... it’s a luffalo,” to which her husband says, “Whatever it is, it’s not natural.”

A third video shows a group of horses in an intense race, one half-horse and half-zebra. Seeing this creature, the announcer calling the race says, “Penny Loafer is losing ground and ... for the love of cream cheese! That’s not natural!”

The videos have been running since July 18 on YouTube as well as on the Facebook page of BMW of North America, which sells BMW cars in this market.

They follow a similar print campaign, also created by G2, that began in January and is running through December in Roundel, a magazine published independently for BMW owners and enthusiasts.

In addition, BMW is running banner ads, through the end of August, on Web sites like NationalGeographic.com, TheWB.com, Roadandtrack.com, Reuters.com, Seventeen.com and GamePro.com. Using copy that says, “Nature didn’t intend this,” and “A poucan just isn’t natural,” these depict the make-believe animals and contain brief snippets of the YouTube videos and a link to full versions of them.

Besides animals, advertising also features BMW models like the X6, X3 and 1 Series Convertible.

Tom Stepanchak, general manager of marketing for the North American division of BMW Group Financial Services, said inspiration for the new BMW advertising came from a humorous video campaign several years ago by P3 Entertainment, which is based in New York, for the extended warranty program offered by Mini Cooper, another BMW brand.“Our products by their nature can be very dry. We took that as a challenge to turn around, to make them fun and entertaining. This campaign is about awareness. We want to create awareness that the product is available. We want people to learn about the levels of the product from our site and dealers,” he said.

Chris Silva, an art director at G2 USA in New York who oversaw the campaign, said the agency had sought to find “an engaging, refreshing way to cut through the clutter, get noticed. We’re trying to demonstrate what happens when two things that don’t belong together are forced to coexist, using animal parts as a metaphor for non-BMW parts and services.”

Mr. Stepanchak said he hoped the advertising would “take off on its own, that people will share it automatically without being prompted.”

He also said the budget for the videos, print and online advertising was “in the low five digits.”

Credits:

MW Financial Services Team:
General Manager, Marketing: Tom Stepanchak
Dealer Marketing & Communications Manager: Ania Neil
Dealer Marketing and Communications Analyst: Courtney Budd

G2 USA Team:
Account Team: Nancy Grebey, Arnel Kasmally, Jason Alongi, Laura Kaye
Creative Director: Rene Lehouillier
Art Director: Chris Silva
Copywriter: Michael Abdul-Qawi
Producer: Sam Milgrim
Digital Project Manager: Eric Liou
Retouching and Editing: Rob Anderson, Mark Petrella, Sterling Uhler
Art Buying: Jen Santiago, Liz Jenei

VFX: QuietMan
Special Effects Director: Johnnie Semerad

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