The Epic Driftmob
BMW
Issue 34 | March 2015
Agency
Interone Hamburg
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Michael Ohanian Executive Creative Directors Max Lederer Thomas Heinz Creative Directors Bjoern Neugebauer Florian Barthelmess Bill Yom Copywriter Daniel Ernsting Conception Debbie Blume Art Directors Jonathan Roolf Christian Petersen Erik Bierschenk Accounts Jan Anderssen Wolf Bockelmann
Production Team
Partizan GmbH Julian Holland Kirsten Sohrauer CSF Krug GmbH Hermann Krug
Date
July 2014
Background
To launch the 2 Series Coupe´, BMW wanted to test a digital-first strategy with a piece of dramatic content driving traffic to #BMWstories, a platform on which both the brand and its fans could share their stories of encounters and experiences.
The campaign had to appeal to people with a sense of "inner oomph" by positioning the 2 Series Coupe´ as a car that embodied pure driving pleasure.
Idea
To bring to life the concept of fewer rules, more performance, five red BMW 235i's were filmed in a flashmob-style, synchronised drift in a major city. It was a Hollywood stunt but filmed on real streets.
Precision drivers (Rhys Millen, Samuel Hu¨binette, Dai Yoshihara, Rich Rutherford, Conrad Grunewald) created a beautiful ballet of speeding cars to a tune of squealing tyres and revving engines.
The blogging world and the press were involved from the start, brought to the location and given the chance to accompany the drift champions on a drive - and even to drift themselves so that they might promote the 'Epic Driftmob', which they duly did.
Results
Even during filming, bloggers and journalists were spreading interest across social media.
Within days, reports about the 'Epic Driftmob' appeared in virtually all international automotive blogs and magazines. Even the BBC's Top Gear picked up on it.
News and entertainment media shared the campaign, leading to;
- 13.5 million clicks on YouTube
- Most successful BMW viral film ever
- Number one in the "Mashable Global Ad Charts"
- An accumulated viewing time of 36 years on YouTube alone
- Shared more than 32,000 times within 24 hours
- Like/Dislike ratio of 20,868 : 659
Our Thoughts
Andrew Bent, Creative Lead at Google in London, wrote an important piece in Directory 32, outlining the ‘Hero, Hub, Hygiene’ strategy he and Dr. Joe Fry originated to try to help brands make the most of YouTube.
It is a strategy he has presented at many conferences and meetings and I get a distinct impression that BMW were at one of these.
‘Epic Driftmob’ is brilliant Hero content, driving traffic to the Hub, where there are a number of other enjoyable films about cars (and people) with ‘oomph’. But there is also plenty of Hygiene too, detail about the cars for those who either want it or need it. Now all we wait for is for another Hero film to add momentum to the campaign.