[Turbanator]

What a wonderful Gift

One of the best gestures I have ever seen by a competitor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rx7-ec0p0A

[RickyC]

BEAUTIFUL AD.

Hitting twin fold, While showing respect to the competing brand, upholding the true virtues of its own brand.... BMW, A Driver's Delight.

[HKap]

Brilliant! Waiting for a response from MB now.

[AlphaKilo]

Beautiful gesture!

talks are doing rounds that he is retiring only for the next two years (cooling period) only to rejoin the board as an independent Member or may be elected as Board chairman of Daimler group.

[Ithaca]

Superb advert.
Very sporting of BMW to acknowledge the competition provided by MB with Dieter Zetsche at its helm.

As is usually the case of adverts between the German three, cannot wait for the response from Mercedes.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Ithaca

As is usually the case of adverts between the German three, cannot wait for the response from Mercedes.

Very, very subdued. For now.



Mercedes-Benz EQC:

https://www.caranddriver.com/mercedes-benz/eqc

[GTO]

That is a terrific ad! Thanks Turbanator for sharing . It's amazing, the kind of camaraderie & healthy competition that exists between BMW & Mercedes. They've released a couple of nice ads before too on each other's anniversaries, while the two have also collaborated many times (e.g. HERE maps).

Must also give a standing ovation to Dieter Zetsche. Under his leadership, Mercedes has:

- Become the no.1 luxury brand worldwide (and in India too ) on the sales charts.

- The most alluring & sexiest designs. Admit it, Mercedes' of today are so much better looking than anything else from Germany.

- Become a dominant force in Formula 1.

- Improved their reliability which was such a sore point 10 years back (however, there is still a lot of room for improvement here).

[rrsteer]

Nice ad! But I don't think they are fierce competitors any more, although they would have to pretend to. I think the urge to unitedly protect the German automobile industry has superseded the rivalry. In my eyes, these brands have lost their individual identities. I feel similarly about the Japanese companies.

PS: But can't be denied BMW has very intelligently sent a message to the older age group (traditional Mercedes base) to shift to BMW, without sacrificing on the youthful quotient of its own brand.

[Sahil]

Healthy competition at it's best! I am surprised he agreed to drive the i8 in the end scene. While it's a good gesture by BMW, it is also a very hard hitting sales pitch in the end by indicating that even the CEO of MB switched over to BMW once he was "Free"

[Cyborg]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.car...irement-video/

It's not him folks.

Cheers

[sumeethaldankar]

Some more reading for people like me who did not understand initially that the person in the video is not actually the Mercedes CEO.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I am surprised he agreed to drive the i8 in the end scene.

Couldn't have actually been him, could it.

Terrific marketing from BMW, and a very dignified response from MB. For all we know, this could have easily gone downhill with Dr. Z/MB accusing BMW of slander. That said, most people wouldn't even realize the man in the ad is/was the MB CEO.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

That said, most people wouldn't even realize the man in the ad is/was the MB CEO.

They got me there. He's a very very good doppelgänger !

[srishiva]

Isnt it just pulling his leg ? I dont see anything amazing as far as feelings or respect towards the CEO. Its a great ad though. A cheeky one that you can just smile at ! Doesn't really make one think about BMW's car specifically. They lost that one.

[rrsteer]

Was showing the ad to my wife, and she pointed to the old Merc parked in the garage, as the supposedly ex-CEO zooms out in the i8.
Quite good attention to detail too.