Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, BMW
BMW builds big @$$ ad in Moscow
In terms of sheer size, Russia is the largest country in the world. That must have something to do with this gargantuan advertisement found in Russia... According to the caption, the surface area measures more than 1.5 acres (billboard haters should stop complaining right about now, as it appears we have it pretty good over here).
More interesting than the sheer massiveness of the super-colossal ad are the full-sized BMWs, lights ablaze, mounted sideways as if zooming across the surface. Those aren't base model Bimmers, either -- sharp eyed readers will recognize them as the Z4 M Coupe, M3, M5, and M6. Now, that is what we call an advertising budget! Thanks for the tip, Hank!
Gallery: Russian BMW Billboard
[Source: English Russia]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
wengleung 8:11AM (4/01/2008)
I'd climb up and drive one home!
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Viper007Bond 8:22AM (4/01/2008)
The pictures are crappy quality, but they look to be fake, i.e. shells. Look at the windows -- they appear to be pure black.
And even if they aren't plastic shells or whatever, no way they'd have an engine, etc. -- too much weight and you can't resell these cars for various reasons.
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StarkRavingMad 8:30AM (4/01/2008)
Anybody didnt realise today is the 1st of april?
nismohks 8:30AM (4/01/2008)
nah definitely not real cars
would weight far too much for them to be able to mount them sideways at a reasonable cost. Just the physics of accomplishing such a feat and plus the crazy reinforcement of the notice boards would be too much.
i'd still climb up and take the wheels though ;)
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FSM 8:45AM (4/01/2008)
Even though I realize today is April Fools, I do believe this enormous ad exists. I doubt however that those are the real cars.
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Ivan 9:20AM (4/01/2008)
These are not real cars :) I see them every day
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BlackbirdHighway 9:23AM (4/01/2008)
Ha, ha, ha, April's Fools!
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kakazsh 9:31AM (4/01/2008)
shells only, of cause=), i think
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Version 1.0 10:07AM (4/01/2008)
Well, I guess I don't have to buy that Z4 M Coupe that I'v always wanted...
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Sergey 10:08AM (4/01/2008)
hey. i am from Moscow. this advertising is real. every car weeght around 200kg. i read about it in another russian source. for example go to this page, http://www.fishki.net/comment.php?id=33136. there u can find another angle of view.
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ermax18 10:15AM (4/01/2008)
Ok.. Maybe not real cars but 1:1 scale models. I think the point was that these are life size cars.
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chris 10:47AM (4/01/2008)
Russia is NOT the worlds largest country in land mass, CANADA is.
Shody reporting this...
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ermax18 11:06AM (4/01/2008)
Russia is in fact the largest by a long shot. Check your facts.
T 11:28AM (4/01/2008)
Russia is NOT the worlds largest country in land mass, CANADA is.
you must be thinking that Canada is still a colony of the UK, and including the US and australia in your calculations... Alternatively, you might be intuitively including the US as you think canada is another state?
John B 11:57AM (4/01/2008)
As much as I would like to think Canada is larger than Russia - it ain't. Canada (10,000,000 sq. km. approx.) vs Russia (17,000,000 sq. km. approx.)
BMW has a really neat headquarters and dealership in Toronto which is an old converted office building formerly owned by Lever Bros. I believe (the address is 11 Sunlight Park Rd.). It has a high profile location on the Don Valley Parkway which they take full advantage of - the 4th and 5th floors are used to showcase cars and motorcycles to the passing traffic. Given the perspective, the cars look exactly like Dinky Toys from the Parkway - an effect the architects intended. They are however real cars on display. I was fortunate to have a tour of the building by the architects during a recent Doors Open event.
All six floors are used for retailing cars and motorcycles, the sixth floor is where new cars are handed over to customers who are then given the detailed inspection.
Here is some info on the building:
http://www.toronto.ca/auda/2005_11_honourable_context_bmw.htm
http://www.toronto.ca/auda/images/bmw_500x392.jpg
gotsmart 11:51AM (4/01/2008)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html
Russia's total area: 17,075,200 sq km
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html
Canada's total area: total: 9,984,670 sq km
Overengineered 12:02PM (4/01/2008)
Russia: 6,592,800 sq mi
Canada: 3,854,085 sq mi
PeterZee 12:26PM (4/01/2008)
I work in advertising, and we did nearly the same thing for Oldsmobile in the 1990s -- with billboards over entrances to the Holland Tunnel, etc., with "Intrigues" mounted on them, headlights blazing. The cars were fiberglass shells, and I'm sure that's what's going on here, because it's the lightest possible solution. Even a steel unibody with real body panels on it isn't a good solution for this kind of application, because weight, etc. Cheaper and easier to do a plastic replica.
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icu812ru469 1:03PM (4/01/2008)
That would not work in US, they would be stolen and replaced with grafitti.
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3seriesisking 1:08PM (4/01/2008)
Totally Bitchin'
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