As a general rule of thumb, it’s never a wise idea to anger your own fanbase by insulting their intelligence or beliefs, or dismissing their well argumented opinions. You’d think someone could have told the marketing department at BMW that.
On November 11, BMW lifted the veil off its upcoming flagship electric SUV, the iX. Specs aside, which are enough to impress even non-fans, it was the design of the SUV that drew the most attention, and not of the positive kind. In fewer words, BMW got dragged again for making a car that seemed, more than ever, bent on breaking away with BMW tradition and stepped smack into the middle of “ugly” territory.
For its part, BMW has acknowledged that the design of the iX is unusual, out of the ordinary and, because of it, potentially controversial. At the same time, though, it’s saying that if anyone finds it ugly, the problem is with them, because they’re too narrow-minded to see beyond it. Or something along these lines.
With the official unveiling, BMW launched the “What’s your reason not to change?” campaign (hat tip to Jalopnik), which mostly tackles the reluctance to embrace fully-electric vehicles. As the video below shows, it also deals with what might consider valid criticism of the design of the iX. And it does so in the strangest, quite aggressive way: by dismissing it altogether as unfounded.
The ad actually includes direct quotes from social media, plucked after the iX unveiling. The narrator is trying to explain them away, stressing how a fear of the unknown has often stopped mankind from recognizing true innovators. “Did we somehow start to feel uncomfortable with the unknown? Or have we just stopped being open for anything new?” he says in a posh accent.
Where his words fail to convey the message, one of the actors included in the video is shown swiping away comments that pop up on the screen. A flick of the hand is enough to solve the “problem” of valid criticism in the BMW universe.
A similar thing is happening over on Twitter, where BMW actually unearthed the “OK, boomer” phrase, which peaked and then slipped into (viral) oblivion in 2019. “OK, boomer” is, as you probably know, what you say to dismiss an older person’s arguments or criticism, on the grounds that the person is disconnected from every day reality and stuck in the past. Since reasoning with one such person is a waste of time, you say “OK, boomer” and shrug them off.
The irony here is that Baby Boomers still comprise a large chunk of BMW’s loyal customer base, and for a very simple reason: they have more money than the younger generations.
While this is happening, BMW has also been making some attempts to address the criticism or at least placate it, though to the same effect. The grille is not too big, it’s simply “more to love,” the nose is not ridiculous, but it “took ridiculously long to come up with such a great design.” One user tweeting that the car was “ugly” got a reply from BMW that this is what usually happens with “innovative design.” “Be open to the new look and let’s embrace the future together,” the reply continues.
They say beauty is the eye of the beholder, and this also holds true to cars, so it makes sense that what’s beautiful to one person is absolute garbage to another. There’s also a lot to be said about how social media creates echo chambers into which a bunch of upset, offended, or otherwise disgruntled people can vent their sometimes-overblown frustrations.
But this doesn’t seem to be the case here. While many did take the humor route to criticizing the looks of the iX, most just pointed out, in no exaggerated statements, that it looked ugly and, as a consequence, they would not be interested in it.
When such a large chunk of your fanbase voices criticism, the least you can do is listen to it – and you could even get away with less, by not addressing it publicly at all. Launching an openly aggressive and dismissive marketing campaign just feels odd and, based on the initial reactions to it, not a smart move for BMW.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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