BMW Rolls Big With Jaw-Dropping 3D Billboards in Times Square

How big did BMW roll in New York’s Times Square to plug its latest XM hybrid electric crossover SUV and a team-up with fashion brand Kith?

That would be 14,000 square feet, displayed across a massive 3D billboard above the Edition Hotel, where the automaker recently ran two impressive campaigns developed with Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

These days, anamorphic OOH is all the rage. And BMW’s effort touting the XM, crafted by animators at BCN Visuals, delivers eye-popping shots of the vehicle zipping down mountains and nearly driving off the billboard:

Phew! It righted itself at the last minute. Thank goodness, or 47th Street would’ve been a mess!

All kidding aside, that’s kick-ass stuff, turning heads from the pavement below and generating lots of play online, where videos have garnered millions of views.

BMW hyped its Kith collaboration in similarly high style. This time, thanks to motion magic provided by design studio Cekai, we watch a 1602 Elektro—the brand’s first all-electric car, from 1972!—transform into the new custom-edition BMW i4 M50, tricked out with Kith colors and details:

That’s a dope car, but don’t rush to put in your order. BMW produced just seven Kith specials, one of which was auctioned off at Sotheby’s last week.

Below, GS&P executive creative directors Matthew Edwards and Wes Phelan and BMW VP of marketing Marcus Casey explain how the work came together:

Muse: Is that billboard a single, immense curved screen?

Matthew Edwards: The billboard is in fact two screens that sit at a 90-degree angle from each other, wrapping around the corner of the building in Times Square. This is what allows us to create the illusion of space and the 3D effect.

Does working in such spaces present special challenges?

Matthew Edwards: Even before we began working on the execution, we had to decide where the optimum viewing point would be and work everything out from that angle. Math and creativity are not two things that often mix, so this was for sure a challenge. Other hurdles we faced included creating lighting that matched the time of day that the billboards would be shown, a feature we felt would help with the immersion we hoped to create.

It’s immersive for passersby. But the goal is to generate big buzz beyond Times Square, right?

Wes Phelan: The first billboard was for the pre-order of the new XM. This was essentially the first time the car had been seen in the U.S. The outdoor execution was then captured and shared on social media to reach an even wider audience. The second billboard was a celebration of BMW’s partnership with Kith, and instead of just revealing a new car it told more of an expressive story.

How do the anamorphic billboards fit into the overall marketing push for the cars?

Marcus Casey: There are broader campaigns to support both vehicles, including online and experiential executions, but we wanted to make a major splash with the BMW XM and the BMW i4 M50 by Kith from the start—while also creating something that would resonate in social media. The XM is the biggest, most powerful BMW ever produced—and I’d argue that a massive 3D billboard in the heart of New York City, with incredible sharing potential on social channels, is the most powerful way to launch it.

So far, the strategy has paid off. There has been a huge amount of buzz, including over 11 million views on TikTok. We also partnered with TikTok creator Jordan T. Stanford to do an “unboxing” video of the XM, and that video has amassed more than 20 million views on his channel.

@jordantsanford Unwrapping the first ever 644hp BMW XM @BMW USA #BMWXM #Unboxing #ASMR #BMWPartner ♬ original sound – Jordan Sanford

CREDITS

—XM 3D Billboard

Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Client: BMW North America

BMW
President and CEO, BMW of North America: Sebastian Mackensen
VP, Marketing: Marcus Casey
Head of Brand Strategy & Communications: Albi Pagenstert
Media & Communications Manager: Lisa Judge
Corporate Communications Spokesperson: Phil Dilanni
Senior National Marketing Specialist: Lauren Martens
Senior Producer: Neil Moreno
Media Specialist: Timothy Sumter
National Media Specialist: Zach Ambrosino

Creative
Partner: Rich Silverstein
Chief Creative Officer: Margaret Johnson
Executive Creative Directors: Matt Edwards and Wes Phelan
Associate Creative Directors: Clemens Zlami and Kevin Leung
Art Director: Guille Aliaga
Copywriter: Belen Russomanno

Production
Head of Production: Jim Haight
Executive Broadcast Producer: Matt Flaker
Senior Interactive Producer: Cassie Edwards
Producer: Daniel Chang

Account Services
Managing Partner: Leslie Barrett
Group Account Director: Tom Powers
Account Director: Olivia Mullen 
Account Manager: Rebecca Bell

Strategy
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy: 
Group Brand Strategy Director: Stephanie Phillips
Brand Strategy Director: Kevin DeStefan, Lucas Goodbody
Partner, Head of Communication Strategy: Christine Chen 
Group Communication Strategy Director: Dong Kim
Deputy Director of Research Strategy: Jane Warren
Junior Research Strategist: Whitney Thomas
Director of PR: Meredith Vellines

Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Heidi Killeen
Broadcast Traffic Director: Ruchele Eisenman
Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Edgar Ornelas

BCN; DOOH Production Company

Executive Producer – Alan Company
Head of Innovation – Eric Sas
Creative Director – Davide Bianca 
Vice President of Partnerships – Lina Maggi

Anchor; Production Company
River Anton – Account Director
Saxon Eldridge – Head of Production
Blase Theadore – VFX, Editor, Colorist
Hunter Blakely – Producer

Sonic Union; Sound Design

Mix Engineer – Steve Rosen
Studio Director – Justine Coratale

—KITH 3D Billboard

Ad Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Client: BMW North America

BMW
President and CEO, BMW of North America: Sebastian Mackensen
VP, Marketing: Marcus Casey
Head of Brand Strategy & Communications: Albi Pagenstert
Media & Communications Manager: Lisa Judge
Corporate Communications Spokesperson: Phil Dilanni
Senior National Marketing Specialist: Lauren Martens
Senior Producer: Neil Moreno
Media Specialist: Timothy Sumter
National Media Specialist: Zach Ambrosino

Creative
Partner: Rich Silverstein
Chief Creative Officer: Margaret Johnson
Executive Creative Directors: Matt Edwards and Wes Phelan
Associate Creative Directors: Clemens Zlami and Kevin Leung

Production
Head of Production: Jim Haight
Executive Broadcast Producer: Matt Flaker
Senior Interactive Producer: Cassie Edwards
Senior Interactive Producer: Alex Healy
Producer: Daniel Chang

Account Services
Managing Partner: Leslie Barrett
Group Account Director: Tom Powers
Account Director: Olivia Mullen 
Account Manager: Clayton Bishop

Strategy
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy: 
Group Brand Strategy Director: Stephanie Phillips
Brand Strategy Director: Kevin DeStefan, Lucas Goodbody
Partner, Head of Communication Strategy: Christine Chen 
Group Communication Strategy Director: Dong Kim
Deputy Director of Research Strategy: Jane Warren
Junior Research Strategist: Whitney Thomas
Director of PR: Meredith Vellines

Business Affairs
Director of Business Affairs: Judy Ybarra
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Heidi Killeen
Broadcast Traffic Director: Ruchele Eisenman
Senior Broadcast Traffic Manager: Edgar Ornelas

Cekai; DOOH Production Company
Director/Motion designer: Kota Iguchi
Designer/Art director: Rei Ishi
Producer: Kaz Yamaguchi, Naoya Watanabe
Creator’s agent: Jimmy Kitaji
CG producer: Tatsuro Hayashi
CG supervisor: Akihiro Sato
CG director: Sangyom Kim
CG director: Shintaro Noda
Digital artist: Yuji Kojima
Digital artist: Shun Terado
CG designer: Atsuya Yagi
Management: Ai Miyabe
Design/Production: CEKAI Inc.
VFX/CGI/Modeling: TREE Digital Studio Inc. LUDENS/2H Inc.

Anchor; Production Company
River Anton – Account Director
Saxon Eldridge – Head of Production
Blase Theadore – VFX, Editor, Colorist
Hunter Blakely – Producer