BMW "Rampenfest" Mockumentary is Over-Long, Funny, Irrelevant
When TTAC received a terse tip from one Allen Hannawell asking if we'd seen something called Rampenfest, we were immediately suspicious. A quick check of our users, a Google search and an exchange of emails exposed Mr. Hannewell's corporate connections to BMW. Tsk, tsk. And yet… the "mockumentary" is funny as Hell. It chronicles the yokels of Oberpfaffelbachen as they attempt to launch a BMW 135 into America via a colossal ramp. The characters deadpan through the turmoil of a town turned upside-down; the Bavarian brogue duologue is hilarious. There's a lot of meta-comment about the nature of marketing, which proves that the folks who made the thing are clever and ironic, and not much else. (Hannawell's final email to TTAC says BMW will eventually admit that Rampenfest is an ad. Wow! Really?) After watching the whole thing– a significant temporal investment– I still don't understand how the film is supposed to make me want a 1-series. That was the point, wasn't it?
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Thanks Ted, for making my lunch break. Ausgezeichnet!
Naja, hob ma no ein paar Bauer-trotteln in Deutschland auch, geh?
Clever... I like it these mockumentaries, where absurd fiction and reality blur. For example, the fictional TV program "The Office" managed to get the character Dwight Schrute's Beet Farm B&B into the very real Trip Advisor. Hilarity ensues... Considering the target market for this car, I think this is brilliant. Good going BMW.
I liked this better than the BMW Films from a few years ago. As always, BMW do a good job at this stuff. However, I wish instead they had spent more time making sure than salt slush would not splash up into the engine compartment of my E70. Those details weren't missed with my old E46.