Beijing, China – BMW China has partnered with TBWA Juice Beijing and TBWA BOLT Shanghai for its latest ‘Project Jupiter’ campaign for the Lunar New Year that plays on the uncertainty felt by those born in the Year of the Dragon and the superstitions people follow during the festive season.
BMW China’s Project Jupiter is a 14-minute mockumentary that places in the spotlight the concept of ‘Ben Ming Nian’ or the belief that those born in the Year of the Dragon will have a time of uncertainty in 2024.
The mockumentary puts a funny spin on the idea that even BMW was born in the Year of the Dragon, having started its operation in 1916. In this case, the brand is also susceptible to ‘Ben Ming Nian’. However, Project Jupiter boldly embraces this predicament, not shying away from superstitions but embracing it to create good luck for everyone regardless of their zodiac year.
Project Jupiter joyfully captures the complexity of ancient traditions and superstitions. With the prominent belief that the red colour is used to ward off uncertainty and bring good luck, BMW goes to extreme lengths to stick with this tradition.
The company is seen transforming its global headquarters into the lucky colour red. The company even goes as far as ramping up their production of red BMWs while the employees and even customers are decked out in the auspicious colour.
The film also features four hero characters and other special guests like actors Jackson Yee and Yang Haoyu.
Aside from the film, the campaign also included a film trailer, a bonus film, and film posters. To further support the red luck theory, red-themed Lunar New Year decoration kits and merchandising packs were developed for retail, dealers, and consumers to ensure the colour red was widespread.
Project Jupiter will run across cinema and online TV, in addition to social and digital media and dealership and retail channels.
Stéphane Koeppel, VP of brand management at BMW China, said, “Chinese culture is enshrined with fabulous insights, stories, and superstitions, and we’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to celebrate and connect BMW to this wonderfully rich culture. Leveraging the creative opportunity of our brand being born in the Year of the Dragon, this year’s campaign playfully continued our obsession to bring joyful surprise, sincerely wishing people good fortune and happiness in 2024.”
Speaking on the campaign, Ronnie Wu, chief creative officer at TBWA China, also shared, “The conundrum this Lunar New Year presented BMW was an exciting opportunity to navigate, while allowing us to continue to celebrate the brand’s deep respect for Chinese culture, tradition, and sharing joy.”
He added, “‘Project Jupiter’ is BMW’s mission to banish the superstitious uncertainty from ‘Ben Ming Nian’ by exploring solutions to avoid Jupiter’s influence. Fueled by engaging humour and special guest star appearances, the 14-minute film follows the mission led by four BMW engineers and scientists. After many attempts, they devised the Red Luck Theory, ending the uncertainty from ‘Ben Ming Nian’ forever.”
