BMW and KBS take ‘The Road Home’ for holiday campaign

With millions of Americans preparing to hit the road for the holiday season, BMW and KBS are demonstrating that the journey home is about more than just rubber and asphalt. The campaign eschews the “snows and bows” approach utilized in so much holiday auto advertising, instead focusing on BMW’s enduring reputation as a driver’s brand and its strong connection to the road.

The latest chapter in BMW’s “The Road Home” campaign is built around a series of evocative videos that demonstrate how a trip home can also represent a trip back in time.

The two 30-second TV and two extended digital spots show two families as they travel home for the holidays. The visuals of their journeys are intercut with actual family photos — a mother and her newborn baby, a graduation ceremony, a family trip to the beach — that take viewers on a journey through their lives. The spots conclude with the super “Times change. The road home stays the same.”

“The anticipation of going home for the holidays every year is rooted in nostalgia,” says Chris Polychronopoulos, Executive Creative Director. “No matter what’s changed over the past year, the feeling you experience on the journey home remains the same.”

The campaign launched Nov. 1 and runs through the early part of next year. Its video elements are being augmented by a dealer toolkit, as well as social and CRM efforts.

Driving accounted for nearly 90% of all Thanksgiving travel in 2016 according to the AAA. The association said that nearly 44 million Americans travelled 50 miles or more by car to visit family and friends.

Client: BMW North America

Agency: KBS

Global Chief Creative Officer: Patrick Scissons

Executive Creative Director: Chris Polychronopoulos

Executive Creative Director: Nigel Gross

Associate Creative Director: Benjamin Cascella

Art Director: Jae Sung Jung

Copywriter: Simon Dolsten

Head of Production: Madison Wharton

Senior Producer: Daniel Roversi

Group Business Lead: Socrates Papazoglou

Business Director: Keisha Townsend

Account Executive: Sydney Shatsky

Executive Director of Content Affairs: Matt Friday

Strategy Director: Timothy Wilson-Brown

Associate Strategy Director: Steve Gorski

Production Company: MJZ

Director: Hoffman / Metoyer

Director of Photography: Lol Crawley

Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins

Line Producer: Mark Hall

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors

Editor: Biff Butler

Assistant Editor: Alex Liu

Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum

Producer: Taylor Colbert

Music Company: Motive Music

Composer/Creative Director: Jeremy Adelman

Orchestration: Score A Score

Executive Producers: Jordan Passman & Jake Weinreb

Orchestrator: Joachim Horsley

Audio Mix: Sound Lounge

Audio Mixer: Rob Sayers

Executive Producer: Mike Gullo

Producer: Liana Rosenberg

Color: MPC

Colorist: James Tillett

Executive Producer: Nick Haynes

Producer: Jenna Gabriel

Finishing: MPC

Lead Flame Artist: Bilali Mack

Executive Producer: Nick Haynes

Producer: Paulina Salazar