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The greatest used car ad of all time...

by Nick Brighton
19 replies
This is truly remarkable. The message to market match is perfect. The humour gives it a viral nature (this post is evidence of that, and so is the fact that nearly 700 people liked it, tweeted it or otherwise shared it somewhere online.)

So simple, so clever. This is copywriting at its' finest.

The Greatest Used Car Ad Ever - BMW Sexy Used Car Ad
#car #greatest #time
  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    No it is not.

    700 people liked it
    And you all bought? (A used BMW ...a necessary clarification)

    Something can go viral in and amongst a segment who has no intention of buying, will never buy, and never met a single solitary soul who did buy. ...But will pass around the ad and pull opinions out of their ....um hats, about how it worked so well.

    Guess -- go ahead and guess -- which 51% of the population this didn't work well for.

    sleazy sexual innuendo is marketing to men at its most lazy - not only alienating women who may have been potential BMW buyers, but riling so many women bloggers in the marketing field, and beyond, that it will surely become a negative blogging influence case study.
    -- LearnedonWomen.com
    The ad now has to produce sales TWICE as high amongst those left over, just to get back to average. (Just about all 700 of you had better be buyers) And nobody had better bring a used BWM home to a fuming girlfriend or wife. 'cause if they do, it'll be the fastest return in the history of sales.

    Good viral. Good viral marketing? Do the men buying Axe body spray drive BMWs, on average?

    All this proves is the mind set on the 'net has a gravitational pull around the fourteen-year-old male that's as powerful as a collapsed star. Just FYI, as usual for the web, this ad never ran in any real media -- just the 'net as I understand it. It was an entrant in a contest and got leaked by someone within the marketing company running the contest, and wasn't approved by BMW.

    Were it an ad, this would have run in summer 2008. September of that year had BMW at a 29.5% sales plunge -- but no doubt 'neters will attribute that to everyone buying used BMWs ...from Greece where the proto-ad was supposed to run.
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    Which do you think is more effective, that ad or a glaring red headline?
    Those aren't the only choices. They are only the choices you want to leave me with.
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  • Profile picture of the author colmodwyer
    Guess -- go ahead and guess -- which 51% of the population this didn't work well for... The ad now has to produce sales TWICE as high amongst those left over, just to get back to average.
    I otherwise agree, but you're making a massive assumption here John... is the customer demographic for used BMWs evenly split between men and women?

    Colm
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  • Profile picture of the author John_S
    And the OP has zero sales figures, and appears to assume it was an actual ad.

    But it depends. If you're talking 3 series, the figure is 63% women -- no data on sexual preference of those women, though. So you're making quite a big assumption I am a normal internet poster yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

    The first step in the sales process is to get attention. That ad does it very well. Which do you think is more effective, that ad or a glaring red headline?
    But that's all it does, get attention. There's no persuasion. No call to action.

    It's an image ad.

    Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author ARSuarez
    I am pretty sure this post was sarcasm by the OP.
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  • Profile picture of the author Irish Intuition
    This ad has been posted on here before, Mr Subtle I believe
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  • Profile picture of the author robbertpenny
    Great thread with awesome contributors.
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    web business - profitable home based businesses - internet marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
    It's amazing how literal and defensive people are around here sometimes.

    Lighten up folks, it's all just a game

    P.S - I know this isn't the greatest car ad of all time. It's a bit like when someone walks into a room and says "I've just heard the best joke ever..."

    P.P.S - Some ads aren't designed for direct response (most, actually.) So it's kinda hard to measure sales response from a single ad like this, where awareness and branding is the purpose. In fact, this probably didn't even go live. The point is, it shows how simple ideas can say so much, so effectively.
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnny12345
    In my opinion, the ad damages BMW's brand. Frankly, I'm surprised they would stoop to this level.

    It's as if they couldn't think of anything good to say about the cars, so they went this route, instead. How unfortunate.

    To make matters worse, the girl looks underage (as several people pointed out in the comments of the page it's hosted on). This isn't sex -- it's sleaze.

    If I was the CEO of BMW, I'd be on the phone firing their agency.

    -John
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    => Need A Persuasive Sales Letter? Click Here...
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  • Profile picture of the author Herbert S Richter
    Banned
    Nice nd Clever!
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  • Profile picture of the author jushuaburnham
    Great Ad. I suddenly want a used BMW.
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    Barcode Reader Software | Pacman Game Download | How to Solve Sudoku
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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      Guess -- go ahead and guess -- which 51% of the population this didn't work well for.
      I have actually purchased two used BMWs (has anyone else in this thread who *loved* this ad?) and believe me, the appeal in this ad had NOTHING to do with my motivation or why I love my '87 Beemer so much.

      Quite apart from the 51% issue, it's rather stupid to toss away the hard-earned and highly successful branding of BMW as the "ultimate driving machine."

      People who praised the ad are overlooking the marketing context that exists in real life. Successful marketers don't do that.

      Marcia Yudkin
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      Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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  • Profile picture of the author CrhisD
    Could've shopped the teeth though.
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