BMW 535 Li's new ‘theatrical’ campaign highlights its night vision pedestrian recognition system

The BMW 535 Li uses an infrared camera integrated in to its front end, which sends real-time video images to the on-board monitor. The video data is analysed by a control unit, which uses intelligent algorithms to detect pedestrians, cyclists and animals who are near the road and in danger of being hit by the car.

Filmed on location in Shanghai, the spot features dancers from the prestigious Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. 

The rather conceptual spot starts with two dancers performing under a full moon with elegant orchestral background music. It then shows a man driving his car at night, with the tagline ‘night vision with person recognition system; look into what others cannot see’, and reveals that the dancers are in fact a couple carrying a picture frame together.

Zentner is known for directing beautiful, highly-choreographed films that are the perfect intersection of advertising and art. His experience with effects, design and photography can be seen in his spots for Mercedes, 'The race" and LG’s "The coolest washer".

Carat is the media agency for the campaign, which has just launched in China, and will be running for two months.

Reported in September, BMW stirred up an online buzz when photos of crop circles that appeared mysteriously in western China went viral. It was later revealed to be a suspense marketing campaign for the BMW 1 series.

In mid-August, BMW seeded a series of photos on Sina Weibo and other Chinese websites, suggesting that a giant, mysterious crop circle pattern — too symmetrical to be natural — had appeared in the Gobi Desert in Western China.

 

Credits:

Client BMW Group China
Agency Leo Burnett Beijing, China
Executive creative director  Nuno
Production
Executive Producers Lee Li Min & Priscilla He of Filmate
Director Matthias Zentner
Director's producer  Jaclyn Tze Wey of Oxygen Content, Singapore
DOP  Rob Malpage
Post Production
Velvet MedienDesign, Munich
Post producer Gustaf Richter & Oliver Loessl
Editor  Anja Rosin
Flame artist  Sylvia Roessler
Nuke Manuel Voss
Telecine ARRI Munich
Music/Sound design  2AM, Malaysia
Exposure TV, print