Campaign: Retirement is about exploring your wide open future
Brand: BMW
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Why the campaign rocks:
the 2019 BMW advertisement featuring a creative and humorous scenario where a senior official resembling the retiring Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche is driven home in a Mercedes S-Class on his last day at work just nails it. The twist comes when he opens his garage at home and drives away in a BMW i8 Roadster. The tagline “Retirement is when you can finally be yourself” appears then, followed by a note of thanks to Zetsche for “many years of inspiring competition”.
The ad resonated with me as it offers quite a few business lessons. The first lesson is what I would call respectful rivalry. The second lesson underscores the value of effective storytelling or using relatable narratives, like retirement and freedom, to connect emotionally with audiences. The third lesson is how the ad highlights BMW’s focus on driving pleasure. It emphasises that using multiple platforms maximises reach and impact. All these elements combine to create engaging and memorable advertisements that strengthen brand loyalty.