We’re used to technology companies taking shots at each other in adverts – I’m looking at you Samsung – and now it looks like that practice has come to electric cars. In a new advert, BMW essentially indirects the Tesla Model 3 due to its massive waiting times.
In the new advert, BMW has a laugh about the massive delays Tesla customers are facing, and comes up with a few other examples: “You will do your taxes twice, maybe more. You will ring in the New Year twice, maybe more,” says a voiceover in the advert.
“You will wait and wait and wait some more, all before that electric car company’s new model ever even arrives.” Sure, so BMW doesn’t go as far as saying the word ‘Tesla’, but you know, I know – and I’m sure Tesla knows – who BMW is talking about.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1v0QKtPXEFQ
In another advert, a voiceover says: “You can get in line, and wait. You can wait – or you can drive.” That sounds obvious enough, but if you watch the video you’ll see somebody walking past unbranded Tesla superchargers before walking over to a BMW hybrid.
It’s interesting to see BMW starting to attack Tesla in this way, for two reasons. First, the advert shows that BMW is now 100% all-in the electric car market, and wants to fight Tesla for its customers. While before, Tesla could be seen as a small competitor in a niche market, these new adverts suggest BMW now views the firm as a main competitor, and electric cars as an important market to conquer.
At the same time, it shows the way in which other electric carmakers are bracing themselves for the Model 3 – what could be the most popular electric car of all time. While they prepare the next wave of their own electric cars, more established carmakers are contrasting Tesla’s waiting times with their own reassuring, tried-and-tested brand images.
Whether that will work, I’m not sure. While these adverts might be funny, carmakers will need some seriously competitive hardware behind them –such as the new Nissan Leaf or BMW i3 – to tempt customers away from Tesla.
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