This week marks the countdown to the biggest auto race in the USA, The Indy 500. I’m not a huge Indy fan, nor am I a NASCAR guy. I tend to like auto racing that isn’t based on an oval track, where the cars turn more than just left. I know, all the NASCAR fans just groaned and said “He’s missing the point”. None the less I am sticking to guns and watching SCCA, Formula 1, Rally, etc.

Now with that said, to help kick off this big racing week here in America, I am posting a little bit about BMW racing. Come on now, There is a lot of German heritage in this country so humor me, and this is one hell of an advertising campaign to promote BMW Motorsport and celebrate BMW M’s 40th anniversary.

To introduce the BMW German Touring Car Masters team, BMW has launched a new print and video campaign built around “Welcome to the team. Come closer”. The campaign emphasizes the involvement with racing fans and offers an opportunity to experience BMW racing even more direct and unfiltered.

The campaign was implemented by Service Plan in Munich and has been distributed on an international level. Creative Director Matthias Harbeck, says the campaign is designed to make BMW racing feel closer, more personal, intense and a dynamic show. The campaign highlights the brand by bringing the excitement of racing to the fans and at the same time to differentiate BMW from their competitors.

The printed portion of the campaign uses beautiful photography that highlights the racing cars on the track. Dramatic lighting and camera angles help accent the intense feeling of being at the track watching the car and drivers preform. There is a minimal amount of copy which allows the images to sell the brand. A simple call out to the BMW Motor Sport website and the “Sheer Driving Pleasure” tag line are all that is needed.

The companion YouTube video has a really nice feel to it. The editing is spot on accentuating the fact that this is a team sport. There are some really nice slow motion shots of the car in action combined with re-timed footage that adds drama to the video.

In addition to the video embedded here, there are 10 short films at the BMW Motor Sport channel on YouTube, including the BMW Motorsport Showroom movie.

All of this is combined with posters, advertisements, autograph cards, branded ticketing agents, flyers and give-aways as well as the branded features from hospitality, to the paddock behind the racetracks. All of this is targeted to include special guests and the public.

In addition to the traditional advertising materials, BMW has developed required reading for all BMW fans with a 200 page magazine titled “110%”.The magazine is available at tracks where BMW is competing as well as BMW dealers.The magazine is a glossy book that deals with all things relating to BMW Motorsport, including  behind the scenes with BMW racing, driver and the team portraits, the track circuits and of course the new BMW M3 DTM. Through out the magazine there are QR codes which are tied directly to additional interactive content, and a BMW Motorsport micro sitewith even more video, images, and an on-board 3D video of the new M3 DTM in action on the track, as well as a complete pit stop action from eight different angles.