Revisiting Fallon’s BMW Films Ads

In 2001/2 Fallon teamed up with a variety of directors including John Woo, Tony Scott and Guy Ritchie to produce a series of eight short film / video advertisements for BMW. All eight films starred Clive Owen as the BMW “driver” but also included guest stars such as Madonna, Forest Whitaker, Mickey Rourke, James Brown and Gary Oldman. Notable for their taught, suspenseful plots, adult subject matter and star-power, the videos focused a fair amount of attention on BMWs, going very fast.

While the videos were powerful, viral advertising, the layered campaign made them compelling. You see, several episodes contained clues (in the form of phone numbers or web addresses) which started viewers on a treasure hunt. Several hundred spotted the clues, solved the mystery, and were entered into a drawing for a BMW Z4 Roadster. The final clue brought treasure-seekers to a VIP Party in Vegas where the Z4 was given away.

Here are three of my favorite episodes still available on YouTube. Can you spot the clue(s)?

Beat the Devil - Tony Scott directed James Brown, Gary Oldman and Marilyn Manson. Made more poignant by James Brown’s 2006 death.
Hostage - Owen saves burger exec from fate pre-arranged by psychotic former employee. End-twist makes us wonder who the evil one was.