Playing a Part in the Worldwide Market Launch of the First Ever BMW X7
Bavarian Motor Work’s credo “Make Every Day Legendary” reached its culmination this March with the latest addition to its BMW X model portfolio: the new - and first ever - BMW X7 represents the next level full-size SUV in the premium segment of the automotive world. With the global campaign of BMW X7 having inaugurated just a few days ago, we are electrified to now share how HearDis! played a part in such grand announcement!
A Proven Track Record of Artistic Sensibility
In the realm of marketing for brands, we strive to elicit emotions by interlacing music with visuals to enhance powerful stories. Meaningful and profound messages come to life when a mutual appreciation of artistic excellence exists between creative minds from both ends: the sound and the picture. The team behind the TVC for the first BMW X7 comprised acclaimed director Gary Freedman - with whom we already shared past projects for the automotive sector, and film production ANORAK - which familiarised with our work back on the successful global campaigns of BMW 1 and 3 Series as well as the TVCs for the earlier X4 and X1 models. The last two were scored by our music production arm PlayDis! with the award-winning original composition “The Wave”. Because of our proven artistic sensibility to understand the needs of the brand BMW, creative agency Serviceplan invited us to take part in the pitch for the next film. Georg von dem Bussche - Creative Director of PlayDis! - shares his experience in crafting the sound for BMW X7 TV commercial:
Five Days to Pitch for a BMW Global Campaign
“The whole thing, from first being asked to pitch till the actual delivery of the sound, took five days. Serviceplan sent over a music brief, which outlined the salient aspects of the brand’s new model and a temp track, giving an idea of the tempo, instrumentation and moods wished for the film. Inspired by these inputs, I spent the first two days only sketching out harmonic progressions that felt right with the motion and images of the picture.
On the third day, I invited our friend and singer-songwriter David Lemaitre over to our studio in Mitte. David is an exceptional instrumentalist. We spent the next two days recording layers of different electric guitars using a variety of effects, all of them through the same (Fender Twin Reverb) amp in order to make them sound as a whole. We also recorded bass guitar, synths, piano and some percussion over a programmed beat while (musician and producer) Berend Intelmann recorded drums in his studio in Kreuzberg. At last, we merged everything together, added a few overdubs to the drums to give them some modern touches. On the fifth day, we were finally ready with the final sound for Serviceplan.”
The Sound of Bliss for Automotive Majesty
The X7 is rooted in premium qualities: impressiveness in size, versatile and agile driving features, comfortable and spacious interior, elegant design language and powerful dynamics - all tailored to please those seeking the ultimate level of automotive majesty. We decided that the music should represent the luxurious essence of the car and reflect these with an emphatic emotional drive. The rationale behind the film is to present the X7 as a travel vehicle able to offer the same premium experience of a luxury train and more: not bounded to the railroad, the X7 can freely adventure into the great wide open by choosing its own path! So for our music production team, the sound had to fuse and manifest the grandeur and innovative trademark of the brand BMW, the authority of the hot new model, and the modern and cool quality of an unparalleled driving and interior experience.
The momentum leading to the grand revelation of the X7 is the pivotal moment in the film: PlayDis! subtly built up a sense of restlessness suggesting that something great is about to happen as the group of friends impatiently waits in the train carriage. When the conductor finally escorts the friends to the back of the train, the suspense finds its bliss: unveiled in the spectacle of beautiful landscapes, the euphoria felt at the sight of the X7 is simply pure and immense. As we follow the car take over the train and eventually wander away, we know that, the adventure has really just begun!
A Shared Appreciation of Artistic Excellence is Key to Success
Georg’s final remarks underline a core belief of HearDis! audio branding: “Creating original sound for a project as major as this is definitely challenging. The stakes are high. That said, we truly valued the involvement of ANORAK and Serviceplan which gave us confidence and inspiration. It takes craftsmanship and artistry to create bespoke music that elevates the story of a brand. Despite stereotypes or differences of the sector we’re in, at the end of the day, one works with people that just know what’s best for a brand. It is precisely this mutual sensitivity for artistic excellence that we hold dear. Because of it, we hope that by putting our heart and mind into the sounds we craft, our work will be appreciated by our fellow industry professionals.”
