Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, BMW
BMW: Still "The Ultimate Driving Machine" after all
Oops. Seems that Al Ries' column in Advertising Age was a little off base when he accused BMW of dropping the famous slogan "The Ultimate Driving Machine" in favor of the "Company of Ideas" theme central to the brand's new ad campaign that was devised by its shiny new ad agency, GSD&M.
It turns out that "The Ultimate Driving Machine" remains BMW's tagline. Broadly speaking, the idea behind the "Company of Ideas" campaign is that it takes a Company of Ideas to come up with The Ultimate Driving Machine.
A couple of quotes from the original press releases about the campaign should have been a clue:
"BMW has carved out a unique niche in the industry by placing a premium on constant
innovation and inspiration and this campaign will reveal the company behind The Ultimate
Driving Machine." - Jack Pitney, VP Marketing, BMW North America (pdf)
"BMW, which retains "The ultimate driving machine" as its tagline, ...] - AdWeek (pdf)
The ad pictured above, for BMW's Performance Series of concerts and films, is a good example. See other examples from the GSD&M campaign here.
You may now return to your regularly-scheduled programming...
[via Kicking Tires]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael Karesh 4:34PM (8/09/2006)
So everyone got riled up over nothing. How often does that happen around here? Oh...
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Steve 4:44PM (8/09/2006)
Whew! Order has been restored to the universe, and there is balance in the force again.
Thank god!
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Alex 5:09PM (8/09/2006)
I think people got riled up not because of the tagline change (which didn't happen), but because it went along with the general dissatisfaction with the direction BMW is heading.
Namely: controversial (often ugly) styling; electronic gadgetry overload; size and weight bloat; less communicative steering.
Also, people who buy BMWs are increasingly poseurs, not real drivers..
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Aaron 5:15PM (8/09/2006)
oh man! i was getting reay to walk in to the service manager's office and quit my job as a BMW technician for fear that the company is heading in the wrong direction!!!!!! thanks autoblog for the Just In Time info.
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Dave T. 5:19PM (8/09/2006)
first off, no linky dink for KT? sheesh
secondly this post makes it sound like Autoblog didn't make the same mistake we did (and Jalopnik and LLN) by not checking those simple facts and believing the AdAge story at face value.
Ah well. Alls better now.
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Adrienne 5:58PM (8/09/2006)
I love my bmw and I don't think BMW's new slogain""A Company of Ideas" sounds as good as the old slogan "the Ultimate driving machine" i think they should bring back the old slogan.
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Adrienne 6:36PM (8/09/2006)
I love my BMW and I don't think BMW's new slogan "A
Company of Ideas" sounds as good as the old slogan "the Ultimate driving machine" I highly prefer they should bring back the old slogan.
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storm9 6:41PM (8/09/2006)
I dont think Adrienne can read...
tsk tsk tsk a disgrace to BMW owners like I.
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Hung2 7:07PM (8/09/2006)
Thank the Jedi for restoring order to the Force and slaying that dreadful Sith Lord "Company of Ideas". How stupid! Now I can sleep tonight and the sun will rise as normal and I don't have to worry about turning the keys of my Bimmer over to an "over-priced - there is no substitute" Porsche dealer. Although......
May the Force Be With You Fellow Bloggers!
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Dave T 8:33PM (8/09/2006)
ah there's the link. Thanks.
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Pico 9:27PM (8/09/2006)
Good, "the ultimate driving machine" is the ultimate slogan (hehe), so please don't change it.
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Wildcat0695 11:38PM (8/09/2006)
Excellent. This is some of the best news of the day for Bimmer lovers.
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John 6:42AM (8/10/2006)
"Namely: controversial (often ugly) styling; electronic gadgetry overload; size and weight bloat; less communicative steering."
I have to agree with you on those points, especially your point on steering. If it weren't because the wife drives my 325i E46 too; I would've ripped out the power steering pump a long, long time ago. : )
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tekdemon 7:20PM (8/10/2006)
lol I called it
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Laura Ries 5:30PM (8/11/2006)
This is Laura Ries, daughter and partner of Al Ries. Al is a marketing consultant and father of positioning. He writes a monthly opinion column for Advertising Age. There is a lot of confusion over this story. Let me help to clear it up.
Here is the quote we saw July 10, 2006 in Automotive News: "BMW's longtime tag line - the 'Ultimate Driving Machine' - is not driving sales to a lot of potential buyers. So BMW's new 'Company of Ideas' ad theme touts corporate independence, safety, fuel economy and all the features that the brand isn't used to selling, says Howard Mosher, executive vice president of operations at BMW of North America LLC."
BMW says it isn't changing its long-time advertising slogan, "The ultimate driving machine." But the issue isn't really what the slogan or theme or strategy or positioning is all about; the issue is what the advertising should be talking about. And it isn't "corporate independence, safety, fuel economy." BMW has no credentials in those areas. BMW should be talking about the "fun of driving," the concept that made the brand successful in the first place.
Having an advertising campaign says one thing (Company of ideas) and a tagline say another (The ultimate driving machine) is inconsistent and does not make for good marketing strategy. The most a brand can hope to do is get one idea in the mind.
I think BMW saw the controversy as a sign that oops, perhaps we should not distance ourselves from driving. The concept that built the brand. Initially if you read the Automotive News article you would think they are moving away from driving.
Al has recently corrected his article to more accurately reflect BMW's position and our position regarding the new strategy, tagline etc.
You can read it here
http://www.ries.com/Articles/index.cfm?page=AdAge
As well as www.AdAge.com.
- Laura Ries
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