Was there ever any pushback from the brand?
The Ultimate Driving Machine came as a shock to the so-called luxury car market. No one had ever called an expensive car a driving machine. But it spoke to Yuppies loud and clear. We literally redefined the luxury car business for all time. It also spoke to the engineers at BMW.
Finally, someone in America understood the genius product they’d created.
When we presented the campaign to a room full of German engineers, we got a standing ovation. Conversely, one of the other agencies in the competition left them with the headline, ‘The smartest thing to come out of Germany since Henry Kissinger.’ No standing ovation, more like sitting shock.
Is BMW your favorite campaign?
That’s like asking which child is your favorite. My answer is that they’re all my favorites but for very different reasons. For getting at the heart and soul of a company, it would be BMW. For finding a meaningful truth where there didn’t seem to be one, it would be Club Med, ‘The Antidote for Civilization.’ To make right the misunderstood value of an exceptional company that had been around for a very long time, which would be ‘UPS, We Run The Tightest Ship in the Shipping Business.’ But then there’s, ‘Waterford, Steadfast in a World of Wavering Standards.’ And ‘Schweppes, The Great British Bubbly.’
How do you want the industry to remember you?
I would like the industry to remember us as a remarkable collective of some of the smartest and best people that ever strode Madison Avenue. The real strength of Ammirati & Puris is that we were a good deal more than a creative-centric advertising agency. ‘No second class anything’ was more than a phrase on a t-shirt, it was something we lived, it was a religious belief. We had remarkable talent in every department––superstars––many of whom went on to found and lead some of the best organizations in the business. We liked each other, trusted each other, and respected each other. It was the best job any of us ever had––and that includes Ralph and me. And, by the way, it was why great clients trusted us with their business.
