BMW Promises Deep, Soapy Relaxation in Its ASMR Car Wash

You know what would feel relaxing right about now? Driving through a car wash, that’s what!

Not an IRL car wash. That’s more of a stimulating experience, with jets of water, suds and sponges coming at you from every direction.

BMW, however, just launched a “Calm Wash” video on YouTube via Goodby Silverstein & Partners that mixes images of automated automobile cleansing with Kubrickian effects to create an ASMR audio-sensory journey:

Tippy stuff! Drippy, too. Who needs a bubble bath? That luxury BMW X7 serves as a space capsule, sloshing through psychedelic seas of some distant world. Bubbles slide across surfaces like strange, slippery life forms, while a teddy bear (Ursa Minor?) witnesses the gurgling grandeur from the back seat.

It’s soothing—but rousing, too, and makes us crave snacks prepared with Lurpak butter. (For 10 years, that brand has set the standard for giving everyday endeavors a cosmic sheen.)

“We look at the BMW X7 as not only a mode of transportation but as a safe space, somewhere passengers can go to relax,” says GS&P associate creative director Rony Castor. “And right now, we could use some relaxation.”  

Anthony O’Neill, another ACD on the project, adds: “We wanted to create an escape from all that is going on in the world. We thought to ourselves, ‘Where is the best place to get away while keeping the BMW integral to the experience?’ Thinking back to when we were kids, we remembered that the sights and sounds of going through a car wash were the best place for us to escape. We wanted to re-create that feeling while reimagining the experience.”

The team filmed at car wash in Redwood City, Calif., for two days in June.

“We had two cameras inside at different angles as well as cameras mounted on the exterior, each pointing in a different direction, to give us an interesting angle,” O’Neill recalls. “We ran the car through 10 or 12 times, so at the end it was a really clean car.”

The car wash generated a multitude of sloshy, surging sounds that the crew strove to seamlessly integrate into the final audio-scape.

“We captured as much sound as we could inside the car wash,” notes Castor. “After that we partnered with Human to play up those sounds, with a calming music score in the background.”

In addition to the two-minute-and-twenty-second film, the initiative includes brief teasers, guided meditations and posters, such as the one below:

CREDITS

Client: BMW of North America
Spot Name: Calm Wash
Air Date: 8/17/20
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Client
VP, Marketing of North America: Uwe Dreher
Head of Brand Strategy and Communications, North America: Albi Pagenstert
National Brand and Media Director: Michael Jobst
National Media Specialist: Zach Ambrosino
Social Media Specialist: Jaime Pritchard 

Media Agency
Agency Name: Universal McCann
Agency City: New York, NY
SVP, Client Business Partner: Danny Huynh
Senior Manager, Portfolio Management: Simona Drapkin
SVP, Group Content Director: Joselle Gallis
Content Manager, Studios: Brittany Goldman

Creative Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Creative
Co-Chairmen: Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein
Chief Creative Officer: Margaret Johnson
Creative Director: Wes Phelan
Creative Director: Matt Edwards
Associate Creative Director: Anthony O’Neill
Associate Creative Director: Rony Castor
Art Director: Mike Rodriguez
Copywriter: Sam Dworkin

Account Services
Managing Partner: Leslie Barrett
Group Account Director: Chris Ferko
Account Director: Alissa Sheely
Account Manager: Olivia Mullen
Project Manager: Kaitlyn Landers

Brand and Communication Strategy
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy: Bonnie Wan
Partner, Head of Communication Strategy: Christine Chen
Group Brand Strategy Director: Stephanie Phillips
Brand Strategy Director: Kevin DeStefan
Brand Strategist: Darien Ahn
Brand Strategy Intern: Lyniece Hill
Group Communications Strategy Director: Dong Kim
Senior Communications Strategist: Matt Hudgins

Production
Co-Director of Production: Leila Gage and Margaret Brett-Kearns
Executive Producer: Matt Flaker
Agency Producer: Phoebe Buckley

Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Chrissy Shearer

Production Company
Company Name: GS&P Social
Production Company City: San Francisco, CA
Co-Director/Director of Photography/Editor: Michael Miller
Co-Director: Quinn Gravier
Executive Producer: Danielle Riccardi
Line Producer: Amanda Steigerwald

Editorial Company
Company Name: GS&P Social
Editing Company City: San Francisco, CA
Editor: Michael Miller

Audio and Sound Design Company
Company name: Post Human
Composer, Sound Designer, and Mixer: Sloan Alexander
Creative Director: Sloan Alexander
Executive Producer: Carol Dunn
Senior Producer: Kamela Anderson

VFX Company
Company name: Company3
Colorist: Kath Raisch
Director: Tom Gehring
Operations Manager: Max Hadson
Senior Producer: Matt Moran