Sure, there are dozens of ways to judge advertising as “good,” but it’s important to remember that good advertising needs to grab the attention of the target. GSD&M|idea city certainly kept that in mind with this spot introducing the BMW V8 M3 – my auto enthusiast friends (and not advertising/creative-minded folk) have been talking a lot about it – which I’d imagine is the most important goal for BMW.
After touring Europe and visiting the BMW M factory in Munich to study the engine, idea city folks figured out how to take three of the Belgium-build V8 engines and cram cameras, lenses and lighting into ‘em. Then after filming for four 20-hour days, they captured (at 10,000 fps) what happens in a single revolution inside of the 420hp beast of an engine. Without any CGI. It’s amazing that something like that still happens. But it’s incredible, and certainly creating a bit of buzz in the auto world.
Regardless of whether or not it’s a 100% accurate representation of the engine under full running load, it’s an impressive feat in terms of cinematographic execution and in not falling back on CGI. It definitely makes a powerful statement for BMW.