Back in 2001, BMW developed a novel marketing scheme to showcase its vehicle lineup. Rather than standard 30-second commercials, the automaker hired world renowned directors to make a series of 10-minute films collectively called The Hire. Eight episodic shorts were created, each with an unrelated plot but all starring Clive Owen as an unnamed driver for hire whose vehicle of choice was always a BMW.
Directors such as Ang Lee, Tony Scott and Johns Frankenheimer and Woo all lent their talents to the campaign. The result were car enthusiast-oriented works that rivaled some of Hollywood’s best automotive-themed efforts. In fact, a certain Audi-sponsored series seems to have been extrapolated entirely from The Hire. In those pre-YouTube days, it was one of the first viral marketing successes, receiving over 100 million views.
Speculation assumes that the new series will help launch BMW’s i brand of electric and hybrid cars. BMW has not announced the names of any directors or whether Owen will return as the titular hire. You can watch some of the original films below.
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