My YouTube ad of the week: Kristof Fahy, William Hill
Kristof Fahy reviews BMW
Kristof Fahy, group brand and marketing director, William Hill
Why I like this
Sometimes you just need scale. Big brand, big ad. It's just 90 seconds of driving. You just can't beat a strip of tarmac in the middle of nowhere, a mountain backdrop, helicopter shots and concrete walls (or are they?). There is no voiceover, no mood music, just revving engines and screeching tyres. An indulgent ad for car-lovers.
You have to admire the driving, the way slow-motion and sound effects are used so you are clear that the gap between the car and the wall is in centimetres. As all car ads have to, you get to see lots of the car, and there is no sign of that "joy" line that BMW has been using that turns BMW into a brand I don't want anything to do with.
BMW was always been about the "ultimate driving machine", and this ad takes BMW back to its roots. Part two is nearly as good, but I don't get so excited about driving around a helipad – even if it's on top of a skyscraper.
Wish I'd thought of
Taking car ads back to their roots by showing me something I am likely never to do on the drive to work (even if I know that I could). I don't care whether the walls are fake or not – it works.
