We all remember the BMW series of eight short films called The Hire back in 2001 which managed to rack up over one hundred million views. The series featured the likes of and helped in boosting BMW’s sales by 12 percent within one year.
It seems as though BMW has decided to bring the Films back on the occasion of their 15th anniversary. A short film has been released featuring latest BMW 5 Series and the return of Clive Owen’s mysterious “driver”.
Over the last decade, we have seen this kind of branded short form advertisement having proven to be very effective in making digital media waves. In 2004, we saw Chanel producing a $42-million, 180-second short film which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. And who can forget the John Malkovich and Robert Rodriguez’s film for Louis XIII Cognac that we will have to wait for one hundred years to view.
And last year casino in Macau featured Martin Scorsese as a director of a 15-minute film starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo Di Caprio and Brad Pitt costing around $70 million.
Continuing the trend, BMW Films has released The Escape which was directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie). The plot consists of Clive Owen’s driver helping a group of mercenaries featuring Jon Bernthal in kidnapping a clone young girl. The film is a thriller and truly a treat to watch with exceptional filmmaking from Blomkamp.
The film reaches its ultimate climax when the new 5 Series manages to bring down a helicopter. BMW Films hasn’t revealed whether this film will be a one-off or part of another series. Watching the film below, we would hope that it is the latter.
Watch the entire film below:
What are your thoughts on the latest version of “The Hire”? Comment below!