BMW - The Hire

By far, this series of 8 Adver-films is the one i consider the father of all modern movie-tainment kinda flicks. It paved the way for the future of well funded and produced viral cinema and advertising.

what was it about: The BMW film series, The Hire was a series of eight short films (averaging about ten minutes each) produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002. A form of branded content, all eight films featured popular filmmakers from across the globe, starred Clive Owen as the "Driver", and highlighted the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles.
plots of each of the films differ, but one constant remains: Clive Owen plays "The Driver", a man who goes from place to place (in presumably rented BMW automobiles), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.


my personal favourites: BEAT THE DEVIL, THE STAR and TICKER.
Now cut the crap and watch the films? ofcourse! 

THE AMBUSH directed by John FrankenheimerWhile escorting an elderly man to an undisclosed location, The Driver is confronted by a van full of armed men and is warned that the old man has stolen a large amount of diamonds.

CHOSEN directed by Ang LeeThe Driver protects a holy Asian child that was brought to America by boat.

THE FOLLOW directed by Wong Kar Wai
The Driver is hired by a nervous movie manager to spy on a paranoid actor's wife.

THE STAR directed by Guy RitchieThe Driver is chosen by a spoiled and shallow celebrity to drive her to a venue.

POWDER KEG directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu The Driver is drafted by the UN to rescue a wounded war photographer named Harvey Jacobs from out of hostile territory.

HOSTAGE directed by John WooThe Driver is hired by the FBI to help defuse a hostage situation.

TICKER directed by Joe CarnahanIn an unnamed foreign country, the Driver drives a wounded man who carries a mysterious briefcase, while under helicopter attack.

BEAT THE DEVIL directed by Tony ScottThe Driver is employed by James brown, who goes to meet the Devil, to re-negotiate the deal he made as a young man in 1954 to trade his soul for fame and fortune.

results and success: After the series began, BMW saw their 2001 sales numbers go up 12% from the previous year. The movies were viewed over 11 million times in four months. Two million people registered with the website and a large majority of users, registered to the site, sent film links to their friends and family.
The films proved to be so popular that BMW ended up producing a free DVD for customers who visited certain BMW dealerships!

staggering end results: the series had been viewed over 100 million times in four years and had changed the way products were advertised. and continues to be viewd on viral sites, youtube and websites n blogs like these!
attempts to copy the technique: Several companies attempted to capitalize on the success of BMW's film series. In 2002, the Nissan car company produced their own short film featuring their newly reintroduced 350Z. Entitled The Run, the movie was directed by John Bruno, a James Cameron protege. The film was shown in theaters before feature films in November 2002. Nissan offered a DVD of the film for $9.95.
all views expressed belong to an opinionated dickhead called Pushkaraj Shirke. If you have differing views, feel free to share them or visit http://www.go-fuck-yourself.com/