If you lose sight of supermodel Gigi Hadid in BMW's new ad, it's probably because you're too distracted by one of the automaker's sexy new M2 sports cars.
The fashion celebrity and popular Instagram personality anchors a new campaign from agencies KBS and Serviceplan, built shamelessly around the fact that she's a looker, combined with a high-speed shell game.
Clad in a tight red dress and spike heels, Hadid climbs into the passenger side of one of three blue 2016 M2 Coupés, which proceed to take off. Joined by two more, the cars weave in and out of each other's lanes while tearing down a runway.
After all five come to a stop in a neat row, the ad invites viewers to guess which car is Hadid's—in essence, testing your capacity to stay laser-focused on the ride with the beautiful woman in it.
Choose correctly at the campaign's website, EyesonGigi.com, gives you an extra, leggy clip of Hadid climbing out of the car, fixing her hair and smiling at the camera (because she's so impressed, you cunning fox, you).
Choose incorrectly, and you see a lone stunt driver summarize your incompetence with one of various wordless gestures—including an amusing use of the car stereo in the best one.
The main ad makes it tricky, if not impossible, to track the proverbial pea in the shell—at least in the standard YouTube version. Things get hairier in the 360° version below, where viewers must swivel their smartphones to track the cars from different perspectives.
Director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, Monster's Ball, World War Z) and cinematographer Mauro Fiore (Avatar, The Equalizer) shot the ad, a single uncut tracking shot, with production company Tool at an airfield in the Mojave desert.
It does look awfully good. And to be fair, the 2016 M2—the first-ever version of the model—is a gorgeous car. So in that respect, there's a certain logic to the concept, even if it's also a bit leering at heart. Framing the fast, flashy car as a ticket to a hot young girlfriend is a hackneyed trope that doesn't exactly keep this from seeming like a mid-life crisis mobile ... even if that is a classic—and often effective—confidence trick, much like the sleight-of-hand game on which this is based.
Otherwise, a largely digital campaign built around Hadid—a savvy social media player with more than 15 million followers—has a pretty good chance of luring young men into buying the car, too.
CREDITS
Client:
BMW Global and BMW NA:
KBS
Co-Chief Creative Officers: Jonathan Mackler and Dan Kelleher
Executive Creative Director: Paul Renner
Senior Art Director: Nigel Gross
Senior Copywriter: Ben Cascella
Head of Production: Jenny Read
Senior Producer: Melissa Tifrere
Executive Director of Content Affairs: Robin Oksenehendler
Group Account Director: Samantha Smeach
Account Supervisor: Keisha Townsend
Planner/ Strategist: Benjamin Zoll
Integrated Producer: Colleen O'Rouke
Serviceplan
Global Chief Creative Officer + Partner: Alex Schill
Creative Director, Art: Michael Wilk
Account Manager International: Sabrina Schwartz
Creative Director Copy: Kolja Danquah
Art Director: Sanaz Shaafy
Senior Copywriter: Angeliki Karnoupaki
Account Manager Online: Kim-Julien Korkmaz
Backend: Jan Scafer
Frontend: Michael Gillig and Casten Behrends
Concept: Patrick Hoyer
Design: Christian Mellin
Production
Production Company Name: Tool of North America
Director: Marc Forster
Managing Partner-Live Action/Executive Producer: Oliver Fuselier
Managing Partner-Digital/Executive Producer: Dustin Callif
Executive Producer: Robert Helphand
Producer: Lisa Cowan
Director Of Photography (DOP): Mauro Fiore
Lead Stunt: Eric Norris
Editorial
Editorial Company Name: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Biff Butler
Senior Cutting Asst: Dan De Winter
Assistant Editor: Noah Benezra
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum
Producer: Lisa Barnable
Finishing/VFX
Finishing Company Name: Framestore
Executive Producer: James Razzall
Sr. Producer: James Alexander
Line Producer: Morenike Dosu
Executive Creative Director: Aron Hjartarson
Tvc Compositing Supervisor And Flame: Alex Thomas 360
Compositing Supervisor And Nuke: Michael Ralla
FX/Nuke/Previsualisational: Multiple Artist
Design: Duncan Elms
Animation: Evan Harbuck
Music/ Sound Design
Sound Design Company: Q Department 360
Sound Studio: Mach 1
Vr Music Company: Duotone
Composer/ Artist/ Title: Jordan Lieb / Jack Livesey
Executive Producer / Producer: Ross Hoppman / Gio Lobato
Creative Director: Pete Nashel
Managing Director: David Leinheardt
Audio Mix
Company Name: Sonic Union
Audio Mixer: Mike Marinelli
Vo Recorded @ Sound Lounge:
Color
Company Name: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Color Tweaks By: Beau Leon @ Framestore
Photography
Gigi Photographer: Jonathan Mannion
Photography Agency For Jonathan: Bernstein Andriulli
Additional Car Stills: John Clark