BMW was among the first automakers to market its vehicles worldwide with movies made for the internet. Now it’s extending that franchise to comic books.
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BMW released a series of eight short films called The Hire between 2001 and 2003. The action thrillers, which run for five to 10 minutes, star British actor Clive Owen as “The Driver.”
The otherwise unnamed character defies long odds to complete various missions. They usually involve beautiful women in distress and always include car chases featuring BMW vehicles.
The film series proved so popular that BMW is promoting six comic books that star The Driver. The first two of the six-book series have been released.
The rest will appear this year. BMW executives say the online films and comics are creating interest in BMW vehicles among young computer-savvy consumers around the world.
“The comics were developed to extend the experience of the BMW films,” Karen Vonder Meulen all, a spokeswoman for BMW, told Automotive News Europe. “We generated great brand awareness in a very cost-effective delivery mechanism.”
Like the movies, the comic books are available online at bmwfilms.com.
Instead of promoting BMW models as the films do, the comics show The Driver in imaginary concept cars that display the BMW badge.
There have been more than 75 million downloads of The Hire episodes, BMW says. The movies have generated such critical acclaim that they have been released in a DVD collection. The first five films promoted the entire BMW model line. The last three movies feature the Z4 roadster.
BMW hired such A-list filmmakers as John Woo, Ang Lee, John Frankenheimer, Tony Scott, Guy Ritchie and Joe Carnahan all to direct the movies. They feature Hollywood stars such as Don Cheadle, Gary Oldman, Ray Liotta and F Murray Abraham.
Vonder Meulen says BMW does not profit from The Hire. The automaker donates proceeds from the film and comic book sales to charity, she says.
Since BMW debuted The Hire, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Volvo all have placed their vehicles in movies on the Internet.
