You would have been disappointed if you’ve tried (and failed) to find official BMW press images of last generation’s M cars (e.g. E92. E60, etc) in a state of drift or under a cloud of tyre smoke, such was the level of political correctness that existed some ten years ago. Well, that has gone out of the window in the recent past (it’s fine with us, to countersteer an M car in a controlled environment, even Toyota does that with a FWD Vios these days, incredibly), but in BMW’s most recent interactive campaign, dubbed ‘Eyes on Gigi’, PC is definitely taking a backseat to eyeballs, which is an interesting stance to say the least.
Says BMW, “The dynamic performance and agility of the first-ever BMW M2 Coupé and the sensuous beauty and elegance of Gigi Hadid inspired renowned film producer and screenplay author Marc Forster, who directed films such as “James Bond – Quantum of Solace”, “Monster’s Ball” and “World War Z”, to create a highly unusual spot.” Lucky then he didn’t work on “The Wolf of Wall Street” (pun applies to Malaysians only, sorry).
Captured in a single uncut tracking shot and filmed at an airfield in California’s Mojave Desert under the direction of Oscar-winning cameraman Mauro Fiore (“Avatar”, “The Equalizer”), the video and its cool interactive portion are accessible on the campaign microsite dubbed EyesOnGigi.com, where the viewer can follow the fast-paced vehicle choreography from a 360-degree perspective.“We are delighted to win Gigi Hadid as the face of our global campaign for the new BMW M2 Coupé,” commented Uwe Dreher, BMW’s head of International Brand Communications. “Gigi and the M2 are the perfect match: Both are strong personalities with fascinating charisma.”
Hadid, who gets to use the M2 for six months, returned the compliments, “BMW is such an iconic brand. The fact that I get to be the face of this campaign is definitely a career highlight for me. The M2 is such a cool, fun car.”
While we have to say the interactive delivery is progressive and super cool, the tactic remains unashamedly centered on the age-old use of an attractive-looking female as eye-candy. So what are the odds for Hadid’s BFF Kendall Jenner to be the ‘face’ for the next M car? And does anyone still remember Paris Hilton?
(The 370hp/500Nm BMW M2 was launched in early March, the most ‘affordable’ M car retails for RM498,800 in Malaysia)