BMW Ran Risk With Silent Role in Mockumentary†

Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2008 — Earlier this year, a half-hour mockumentary about a small Bavarian town's attempt to catapult a BMW car from Germany to the U.S. via a giant ramp garnered positive buzz from auto and pop-culture blogs. Yet rather than soak up the glory, BMW spent weeks refusing to claim the short film for what it was — a viral-marketing campaign created by the company's ad agency, GSD&M Idea City.

By keeping mum, the German auto maker was taking a risk. In recent years, the viral-marketing world has been littered with examples of companies that have pulled the wool over consumers' eyes, only to be blasted with criticism when the truth came out.