The Hire (by BMW films) was a series of 8
short films averaging about ten minutes of branded content each, produced for
the Internet in 2001 and 2002. All 8 films featured popular filmmakers from
across the globe, starred actor Clive Owen as the "Driver," and
highlighted the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles.
Other A-list celebs featured in the films included Madonna, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Adriana Lima, James Brown, Forest Whitaker and Stellan Skarsgard, among others. The films, were the first introduction of a complete fusion of advertising and entertainment. The plots of each of the films differ, except that Clive Owen plays "The Driver," a man who goes from place to place in BMW automobiles, getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.
Other A-list celebs featured in the films included Madonna, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Adriana Lima, James Brown, Forest Whitaker and Stellan Skarsgard, among others. The films, were the first introduction of a complete fusion of advertising and entertainment. The plots of each of the films differ, except that Clive Owen plays "The Driver," a man who goes from place to place in BMW automobiles, getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.
In season 1, five short films (Ambush, Chosen, The Follow, Star,
Power Keg) were launched by BMW in April 2001. The series continued in
2002, with the release of three more films (Hostage, Ticker, Beat The Devil)
in Season 2.
What is unique about this approach to advertising is that
consumers had to seek out the content themselves. According to the BMW blog,
the publicity and marketing outcomes of the film series were highly successful.
BMW sales increased by 12% in 2001 from the previous year and the movies were
viewed over 11 million times in just four months. Two million people registered
with the website and a large majority of users, registered to the site, sent
film links to their friends and family. This number is quite remarkable when
it’s put into perspective, especially since YouTube wasn’t even around then and
the idea of viral marketing was in its infancy. As the films gained
considerable traction in popularity, BMW made the decision to produce DVDs for
customers who visited certain BMW dealerships. Due to such a high demand, BMW eventually
ran out of DVDs. Soon thereafter, BMW and Vanity Fair magazine
collaborated to distribute a second DVD edition of The Hire in the
magazine.
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