The new BMW 8 Series Coupe on the Canal Grande in Venice

The new BMW 8 Series Coupe is more than just a sports car. With this model, BMW gives the luxury segment a new identity, making automobile dreams come true and creating unique moments of pleasure. The spectacular TV commercial at the centre of the market launch campaign for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe takes as its motif the emotional impact of a completely new mobility experience that is realised for the first time ever. It shows the luxury sports car driving through the historical centre of Venice. Driving past magnificent palazzi and underneath the Rialto bridge, the new BMW 8 Series makes its way along the Canal Grande – a route never before covered by an automobile. For the driver, whose story is told in the short film, the childhood dream comes true of driving a car through Venice; meanwhile viewers are given a whole new perspective on the lagoon city, featuring moments of driving pleasure in a form that has never been seen before.

The film, which is directed by Daniel Wolfe and will be shown in versions lasting 15, 30 and 45 seconds, is about a young Venetian man who as a child discovers his love of automobiles in general and BMW in particular. A model BMW M1 becomes his favourite toy, and a boat-builder friend introduces him to the fascination of engine technology. But in a city in which boats are the sole means of transport, his yearning for sheer driving pleasure remains unassuaged, which is why he leaves Venice as a teenager, not to return until many years later. And now at last his childhood dream comes true – in the new BMW 8 Series Coupe and driving on pontoons that pave the way to a unique automobile trip through the canal network of his home city.

The scenario is symbolic of efforts to make the apparently impossible come true and turn long-nurtured dreams into reality. “Our models for the luxury performance segment are geared towards the lifestyle of a target group that dares to try out new things and go beyond the limits of feasibility,” ways Uwe Dreher, Director Brand Communication BMW, BMWi and BMW M. “We offer these individuals a mobility experience that corresponds to their idea of exclusivity and progressive luxury.”

In order to enable the shoot to take place, the Venice authorities – for the first time in the city’s history – issued the BMW Group with a permit to set up a pontoon structure that would allow an automobile to drive past the world-famous backdrop of the city’s historical centre. Where gondolas, vaporetti and small motorboats have been the sole means of transportation for centuries, the new BMW 8 Series Coupe became a true pioneer of driving pleasure – quite literally striking out on a new path. The sensational scenes were partially shot using camera drones; the commercials will be broadcast worldwide on selected TV channels and also online.

The campaign for the launch of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe was developed by the BMW Group in collaboration with Serviceplan Campaign International. It will be backed up by wide-ranging social media activities on outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. A feature with background information and impressions of the otherwise car-free city of Venice as well as a documentary of the film shoot with the new BMW 8 Series Coupe is also in preparation. “The market launch campaign for the new BMW 8 Series Coupe expresses not just the distinctive character of this model but also the emotional power of our vehicles in the luxury performance segment and innovative strength of the BMW brand,” says Kirsty Skinner-Gerth, Head of International Campaigns, Artwork, Film, Entertainment Marketing.

With its spectacular showcasing of the new BMW 8 Series Coupe against the historical backdrop of Venice, BMW provides a particularly high-visibility continuation of its recently initiated campaign in the luxury performance segment. The models in this segment now bear a newly designed signet along with the company name Bayerischer Motoren Werke written out in full. The brand’s intensified presence in this segment is one of the objectives defined by the BMW Group as part of its corporate strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT to secure sustainable growth in automobile markets worldwide. In addition to exclusive vehicles and services, BMW is also creating a world of experience in the globally expanding luxury performance segment, going far beyond driving pleasure by providing target groups with unique and inspiring moments.