BMW's New Ad is a Big Pie in Tesla's Face

by Steph Willems

Published: August 9th, 2016

bmw s new ad is a big pie in tesla s face

BMW has the plug-in sedan you want, no waiting.

That’s the message in Bimmer’s new ad for the 330e plug-in hybrid, which takes a not very subtle jab at would-be Tesla Model 3 buyers. Titled “Wait or Drive” (get it?), the television commercial plays the tiniest of violins for the 373,000 buyers who put $1,000 down on a car they might not see for a couple of years.

#2014HondaAccordHybrid #Advertising #BMW #BMW330e #Marketing #Plug-in #Tesla #TeslaModel3

Steph Willems

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11 of 71 comments

Big Al from Oz on Aug 09, 2016

I have an idea, very capitalistic one at that. Why don't all the (some) commenters (and some staff) on TTAC set up a dollar business and develop our own EV? Hit the Government up for some socialised tax payer money to assist and pay our way. I do know all of us at TTAC can have a 500 000 vehicle year market for our EV. We can achieve this within two years as well. We can also undercut the competition and sell our prestige vehicle for under $30k. What should we call our EV? It must have a 3 in it. I do have some rocketry experience. I used to make those cardboard rockets with a parachute when I was a kid as well. Jack can be our "leader" as he can spin a lot of sh!t and create a groupee following.

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- Old Man Pants on Aug 09, 2016
  
  "I do have some rocketry experience." I think we've all had too much chipotle a time or two, Al.
  
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- Vulpine on Aug 10, 2016
  
  "I have an idea, very capitalistic one at that. Why don’t all the (some) commenters (and some staff) on TTAC set up a dollar business and develop our own EV?" Ah, the sarcasm is strong with this one, padawan.
  
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Acd on Aug 09, 2016

The ad might be more impactful if the BMW had more than 10% of the range of the product it is mocking.

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- TonyJZX on Aug 10, 2016
  
  Yes. This. I can totally understand if Nissan Leaf went this route because you are comparing apples to apples. I know people love to compare a real car to the Model 3 projection bubble but the reality is that people already have a car and are waiting for the Model 3? Isnt that obvious? Its not like 300,000 people are taking the damn bus while waiting for Elon to crap out his next losing adventure. I also find it hilarious how no one mentions that the 330e is a California type 'compliance' car. That to me is the most cynical thing of all, in fact, I find this kind of 'sin' most egregious compared to anything Elon has ever done.
  
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Speedlaw on Aug 10, 2016

Today's wild ass guess is that this car fills a niche in some Cities in the world where you need a ZEV to get into the city center, at which point the 13 miles (what, they use the startup battery ?) is enough to pick up Chad at the stock brokerage.

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Stingray65 on Aug 10, 2016

Tesla and Trump are very similar 'brands'. They both get lots of free publicity from the media so they don't need to advertise to get name recognition. They have both surprised 'conventional' competitors in managing to survive this long (which is why the BMW ad focuses on Tesla). They both make big promises that they seldom keep (which is the point of the BMW ad). They both survive on government subsidies and lots of debt. Only Trump has gone bankrupt, but I suspect Tesla will soon be joining him in that club. The interesting thing is - I suspect there are very few Tesla fanboys that are going to vote for Trump.

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- Vulpine on Aug 10, 2016
  
  Not true. Trump very clearly advertises his "brand" on everything he's involved with. He gets publicity because he pays for publicity one way or another. He wouldn't even be running for President right now if he hadn't blown his "brand" ridiculously out of proportion. Tesla doesn't do that. Tesla's Brand comes from offering a product that is truly different and encourages its owners to tell their friends and show off the car; this is completely different from the person to whom you are comparing them. What "free" advertising they get now comes far more from the anti-Tesla people trying to shoot them down than it does from proponents saying, "buy this car!"
  
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- Orenwolf on Aug 10, 2016
  
  Trump advertises everywhere. There's a movement here to get his name off of a skyscraper. If 20 foot-tall letters spelling TRUMP isn't advertising, I'm not sure what is. And again, if by "government subsidies" you mean payouts from the government, tesla repaid those. It gets tax credits like every auto manufacturer, and sells tax credits to other auto manufacturers, but that's private money, not government money.
  
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- Stingray65 on Aug 10, 2016
  
  @orenwolf Trump putting his own name on his own buildings is not technically advertising in the sense of paying a 3rd party to publicize your name (such as the BMW ad running during the Olympics TV coverage). If putting a name on a building is advertising, then Tesla does the same 'advertising' by putting the Tesla name on its factory building and showrooms. Tax credits are a subsidy when the government forces other automakers to buy them. They also get subsidies in the form of tax rebates for buying electric cars. The repaid loans were also a subsidy, even though they are repaid, as the firm would not have survived without them.
  
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- Orenwolf on Aug 11, 2016
  
  @stingray65 "Trump putting his own name on his own buildings is not technically advertising in the sense of paying a 3rd party to publicize your name (such as the BMW ad running during the Olympics TV coverage). If putting a name on a building is advertising, then Tesla does the same ‘advertising’ by putting the Tesla name on its factory building and showrooms." Exactly right. Hence my comment that trump surely engages in advertising. Paying a third party is irrelevant to whether or not an ad is an ad (when nbc advertises their own show on their own channel, they pay no one, but it is surely an ad). "Tax credits are a subsidy when the government forces other automakers to buy them. " The other automakers could produce compliant vehicles instead of purchasing credits. They are *choosing* not to. That's like saying the government "forces" you to pay for expedited processing to get your passport sooner. You could just wait instead and pay less. "They also get subsidies in the form of tax rebates for buying electric cars. " You mean their customers do. "The repaid loans were also a subsidy, even though they are repaid, as the firm would not have survived without them." I cannot argue the "survived without them" point as I don't have enough information, but considering those loans were repaid a long time ago, their recent "survival" has been based on non-governmental capital investment, sales, and funds from other auto manufacturers, not government subsidies as you claim. And yes, they took and repaid a gov't loan, as did every other US manufacturer except Ford, I believe (Canadian here, I may be wrong).
  
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