ITV

Category: Brands

  • BJP, FMCG companies in BARC’s top 10 list

    BENGALURU: Once again following the trends of the first four weeks of 2017, FMCG advertisers hogged most of the ranks (9 out of the top 10 ranks) among the top 10 advertisers list on television in terms of ad insertions (advertisers list) for week 5 of 2017. Also, the national ruling political party – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – was ranked first among the top 10 brands list in terms of brand ad insertions on television (brands list) in week 5 of 2017 (Saturday, 28 January 2017 to Friday, 3 February 2017) as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for top 10 advertisers Across Genre: All India (U+R): 4+ Individuals.

    The lone non-FMCG player in the top 10 advertisers list was music company Super Cassettes Industries (SCI) which was ranked 7 with 18,154 (6.49 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 advertisers) insertions. SCI was also present in the advertisers list for week 4 at rank eight with 18,804 insertions and in week and rank 9 in week 2 of 2017 with 17,250 insertions.

    Maintaining their respective ranks in the advertisers list at the first three positions were FMCG players Hindustan Level Limited (Lever) with 95,638 (34.17 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 advertisers) insertions; Baba Ramdev’sPatanjaliAyurved Limited (Patanjali) with 31,761 (11.35 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 advertisers) insertions and Reckitt Benckiser (India) Limited (Reckitt) with 25,912 (9.26 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 advertisers) insertions. Please refer to Figure A below for the advertisers list for week and Figure B below for the advertisers list for weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 below.

    As mentioned above, the national ruling political party – the BJP tops the brands (in terms of number of television insertions) list in week 5 of 2017 with 11,563 (14.47 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 brands).  The number of insertions by three Mobile services/devices brands had the largest chunk of insertions in the brands list with 26,314 (32.94 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 brands) in week 5. Four FMCG brands followed slightly behind with 25,349 (31.73 percent of sum of insertions by top 10 brands) in week 5. One brand each from politics (BJP), associations (Petroleum Conservation Research Association – 11,053 insertions) and online (OLX.in, 5,613 insertions) genres completed the top ten brands list in terms of television ad insertions per week list. Please refer to figure C below for the top 10 brands list in terms of television ad insertions in week 5 of 2017.

  • BMW leads among popular auto brands on Instagram

    MUMBAI: The BMW brand’s international Instagram channel has broken through the ten million followers’ mark, making it one of the most successful automotive brand on Instagram worldwide.

    The impressive figure of 10,000,000 followers underlines the BMW brand’s commitment to social media. For BMW marketing, Instagram is more than just another digital communication channel. BMW uses its Instagram channel to share the BMW brand lifestyle with its followers – through the latest news on upcoming models, glimpses of its own history or looking ahead to the future of mobility. With its clear focus on strong visuals and a highly-interactive community, Instagram is the ideal channel for communicating the brand values of joy (“sheer driving pleasure”), aesthetic appeal and innovation. However, growing the community is not top priority. It is more important to cover a wide variety of topics with relevant content that appeals to users and increases their involvement in the form of likes, shares and comments. The BMW Instagram channel impresses with its targeted, long-term channel management and regular publication of emotionally-engaging content.

    In addition to effective influencer marketing, the brand also celebrates the involvement and enthusiasm of each individual fan. Under the hashtag #bmwrepost, BMW shares photos taken by enthusiasts and hobby photographers with the community in appreciation of its loyal fans around the globe. Where else can you get this close to a brand and share your own photo millions of times? User activation through #bmwrepost has been a resounding success. It is no coincidence that #BMW has already been used more than 19 million times and is by far the most popular brand hashtag in the automotive sector.

    “The aim of our social media strategy is to optimise how we use the special features of the specific channels available to us,” explains BMW head of digital marketing Jörg Poggenpohl. “Instagram is made for initiating authentic dialogue with followers worldwide. It is important to us not only to celebrate our own achievements, but, above all, to share the excitement and enthusiasm of our fans and customers with an audience of millions.”

    BMW marketing was quick to recognise the enormous potential of the social media network. BMW published its first image on Instagram back on 30 May 2012: a high-gloss photo of a BMW 650i Coupé. By May 2014, BMW had a million followers. Since then, its Instagram fan community has grown exponentially: from two million followers in early 2015 to double that number by the autumn of the same year. A year later, in autumn 2016, BMW had already reached the eight million mark.

    BMW’s popularity on Instagram confirms the success of the brand’s social media strategy. The parameters are tailored, individual content, professional editing and authenticity. In addition to Instagram, international BMW marketing also successfully uses the social media channels Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

  • Kareena is Sony BBC Earth ambassador

    Kareena is Sony BBC Earth ambassador

    MUMBAI: The soon-to-be launched factual entertainment channel Sony BBC Earth has roped in the vivacious and versatile Kareena Kapoor Khan as its ‘Feel Alive’ Ambassador. This is the first time that the actress has become part of a factual entertainment channel.

    Kareena is known to have a spirited, ‘full-of-life’ personality both on and off-screen. Her vibrant persona coupled with her love for the natural world were the key factors in opting for Kareena to represent the most awaited channel of 2017.

    Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head – English cluster Saurabh Yagnik said, “Kareena Kapoor Khan’s personality perfectly resonates with our brand proposition and channel content, which will be revealed soon. I am confident that this unique association will take the factual entertainment experience to a whole new level for our viewers in India.”

    Also Read:

    Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

  • Delhipedia helps events & brands reach Netizens

    Delhipedia helps events & brands reach Netizens

    MUMBAI: While leveraging influencers is a common practice abroad, India is still experimenting the various ways in which an audience can be tapped using influencer marketing. This is where we would like to bring your attention to Delhipedia!

    This community engagement platform is an influencer for all brands which aim to reach out to Delhi’s audience. With an envious following of 600,000, Delhipedia has emerged as a key marketing partner for eight organisations in just two months. Delhipedia has positioned itself as one of the most appropriate platforms for brands to partner in order to drive their marketing and sales. Brands like Le Eco have launched key social media campaigns through Delhipedia, and travelled on the strength of its followers.

    Delhipedia, the leading community engagement platform emerged as a key marketing partner for eight organisations in just two months. The online platform has already partnered with clients like LeEco for its campaign Festive Mirfie, the Green Wheels Bike Festival, Krackerjacker Karnival Delhi, Hindol Sengupta, author of The Modern Monk and Jeffrey Archer, author of the book ‘This was a Man’, to name a few. Delhipedia has successfully been able to promote these brands with key digital tools like online video stories, social media contests and announcements. With an envious following on social media platforms like Facebook, Delhipedia has positioned itself as one of the most appropriate platform for brands to partner in order to drive brand engagement and sales.

    Elaborating on the successful partnership with Delhipedia, Le Eco marketing communications director Meera Krishnan said, “We were looking to drive a campaign activation encompassing social, offline activations and print for Mirfie – our unique version of a selfie contest. Delhipedia team worked proactively and ensured the deliverables and ROI far exceeded our expectations. The campaign was a huge success, and we experienced significant engagement among audiences, with a good number of entries for the contest and positive impact on brand image.”

    Similar was the experience of Great Indian Literature and Film Festival (GIFLIF) co-founder Karan Kukreja, “For the promotion of GIFLIF, we were looking for a partner through which we could reach out to the Delhi’s movie lovers and literati. By partnering with Delhipedia, we were able to reach out to its nearly six lakh followers, which generated interest among many film and literature lovers, and led to a great response for the festival.”

    “Delhipedia’s use of video content to draw audiences helped us build and grow community of followers, both during and post the event”, he added.

    Delhipedia founder Arjun Pandey says, “We have seen tremendous demand for leveraging the close to six lakh strong Delhipedia community, consisting of Delhi’s internet elite.” Pandey added, “According to a recent data released by Oxford Economics, Delhi has India’s highest per capita income in India, pegged at Rs 2,80,000. This is about three times above the national average, and community engagement sites like Delhipedia offer a one-of-its kind interactive platform to reach out to the internet and e-commerce elites amongst them.

  • Godrej Consumer Products Ad & Publicity spends up in Q3-17

    Godrej Consumer Products Ad & Publicity spends up in Q3-17

    BENGALURU: Leading emerging markets FMCG player Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) increased its advertising and publicity expenses for the quarter and nine month period for the period ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter, 9M-17, YTD respectively) as compared to the respective periods of the previous year. The company spent 11.9 percent more towards this expense head at Rs 191.94 crore in Q3-17 as compared to Rs 171.53 crore in Q3-16. In 9M-17, GCPL spent 9.3 percent more at Rs 563.03 crore as compared to Rs 515.15 crore in the corresponding nine month period of the previous year.

    While in terms of absolute rupees advertising and publicity spends increased in Q3-17 and 9M-17 as compared to Q3-16 and 9M-16 respectively, in terms of percentage of Total Income from Operations or TIO, YTD the percentage was constant at 7.9 percent. In Q3-17, the company’s ad and publicity spends were 7.7 percent of TIO, while in Q3-16 they were 7.5 percent of TIO.

    Please refer to the figure below.

    The company in its earnings release says that Q3-17 consolidated constant currency net sales increased by 12 percent year-on-year during which India business primary sales were flat while secondary sales increased by 2 percent on year-on-year basis despite demonetisation challenges, while international business sales grew by 28 percent year-on-year, on a constant currency basis.

    On an actual basis, GPCL TIO increased 8.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 2,485.77 crore in Q3-17 from Rs 2,285.74 crore in Q3-16. Profit after tax (PAT) in the current quarter declined 4.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 351.78 crore (14.2 percent of TIO) from Rs 367.75 crore (16.1 percent of TIO). The company says that Q3-17 consolidated net profit and EPS, without exceptional items, increased by 5 percent.

    In itsIndia business review GCPL shared the following insights:

    Household Insecticides 

    Household Insecticides delivered a relatively resilient performance with sales decline of 2 percent. The company says that it made healthy media investments during the quarter and gained market share. It says that it is also driving improvements in penetration rates led by innovative launches, awareness creating campaigns and activations. 

    Soaps 

    Soaps performance improved sequentially as primary sales declined by 6 percent with a high single digit decline in volume terms. This decline in volume was partly driven by the transient effect of the withdrawal of promotions, price increases and adverse impact of demonetisation. GCPL says that it has initiated selective price increases in our portfolio and are scaling back consumer and trade offers.

    Hair Colours 

    Hair Colours primary sales declined by 2 percent, while crème continues to be a lead growth driver with strong double-digit growth. During the quarter, Godrej Expert Rich Crème reached its highest ever market share on an exit basis. GCPL says that its effective communication campaigns, along with competitive media investments, have widened Godrej Expert Rich Crème’s distribution and penetration lead over competition. 

    Liquid Detergents 

    Liquid Detergents saw a reasonable growth performance. Primary sales increased by 2 percent, despite a delayed winter and demonetisation. Demand was to some extent impacted by demonetisation, given the semi-discretionary nature of the category.

    Air Fresheners 

    GCPL says that Godrej aer now ranks number 2 in the overall air care market. We continue to gain share, aided by innovations and strong execution. 

    Health and Wellness 

    GCPL says that its Health and Wellness portfolio of hand washes and hand sanitiser, under Godrej protekt, has been successfully introduced in general trade. 

    CintholDeo stick 

    The recently launched Cintholdeo stick for men and women has been well received by consumers. Godrej plans to continue to support this launch with innovative consumer engagement initiatives and impactful communication. 

    Company speak

    Commenting on the financial performance of Q3-17, GPCL chairman Adi Godrej said, “Despite a tough operating environment, we continued to deliver ahead-of-the-market profitable growth. Our 3QFY17 consolidated constant currency sales increased 12 percentand constant currency EBITDA increased 17 percent. We continue to deliver EBITDA growth ahead of sales growth, despite a strong base from the previous year.

    In India, while demonetisation has resulted in some near-term disruptions, we have outperformed the overall market with secondary sales growth of 2 percent during the quarter. Our go to market approach has been resilient and dynamic. We have been disciplined in our execution and have worked closely with our trade and retail partners to deal with the situation. We have also invested competitively in brand building and innovations. Through our focus on operating efficiencies and judicious cost management, our EBITDA, too, has increased by 15 percent.

    Our International business, too, performed well with revenue growth of 28 percent and EBITDA growth of 19 percent, in constant currency terms, led by continued strong performance in Africa.

    Going forward, remonetisation should result in growth normalising in India over the next few months. In FY-18, implementation of the GST will provide strong momentum for a much better economic environment and stronger consumer demand.

    We are relentlessly focusing on our strategy and continuing to invest in building a sustainable platform for the future. At the same time, we are driving our core to full potential, ensuring execution excellence and building on our agile and high performance culture.”

  • IndusInd Bank roots for Indian Blind WC T20 team

    IndusInd Bank roots for Indian Blind WC T20 team

    MUMBAI: IndusInd Bank, in association with Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI), has launched ‘TheOtherMeninBlue’ campaign for the IndusInd Bank Indian Blind Cricket Team under the World Champions Programme – Cricket for the Blind. Advocating the cause, IndusInd Bank aims to garner support for, and generate passion and visibility for the defending champions in the ongoing T20 World Cup Cricket for the Blind, which commenced in Delhi on 19 January, 2017.

    The campaign intends to showcase the fact that cricket as a religion needs to be all encompassing. While the nation focusses and cheers for mainstream cricket, that visually-challenged cricketers also make the country as proud, both on and off the field, and that they too require support and cheering, while they represent their country at the highest level.

    Through this campaign, IndusInd Bank strives to mobilize that support for the unsung heroes. IndusInd Bank has developed a dedicated microsite to encourage people to root for ‘TheOtherMeninBlue’. To make it more participative, the Bank has developed a unique game, with 3D sound technology, that provides users with a firsthand experience as to how the visually-challenged cricketers play the game. Users can click on the Play, Cheer and Share the Score options, which they can put up on Facebook to show solidarity with the team.

    A two-week long campaign on social and digital platform aims to garner goodwill and cheer for the Champions – the main highlights being a massive influencer campaign via social media, player profiles, thought provoking / did you know content, interactive contests and games which will make the overall experience highly participative and engaging.

    The campaign aims to put the spotlight on the team’s dedication, rigorous training and successful achievements on both the national and international stage. The campaign brings to the fore IndusInd Bank’s continuing endeavor to work with diverse communities to bring about positive change and improve lives.

    One of the major highlights of the campaign is the anthem ‘Shor Machayega Sara Mohalla’ as a part of cause marketing campaign – launched by Cricket Association for the blind in India (CABI) in association with IndusInd Bank – is an inspiring sixty second anthem to excite the nation to support the “#TheOtherMenInBlue”. It opens with the lines “Dikhayi nahin deta, Par dikha toh saktey hain, Dikhayi nahin deta, Par sun toh saktey hain. Aao… shor machao, Humaari himmat badhao, Aao… shor machao.” In English, it means, “We can’t see, but we can show you, we can’t see, but we can hear you! Come and cheer us, come boost our spirits, come and cheer us!”

    IndusInd Bank Head – Marketing & Communication, and Head – Retail Unsecured Assets Anil Ramachandran said, “The T20 World Cup is the ideal platform to acknowledge the many achievements of ‘TheOtherMenInBlue’ and cheer them as they play hard to defend their title. The campaign is a part of our continuing endeavours and belief that IndusInd Bank as a part of society ,can reach out to diverse communities and work for their support and betterment.”

    IndusInd Bank Country Head – Commercial Banking and in-charge of Sports Vertical Sanjeev Anand noted, “Through our unique campaigns, we are providing the much-needed impetus to compete and excel in sports, and encourage visually challenged sportspersons to come forward and play for personal and national glory.”

  • Lux cozies up to Varun

    Lux cozies up to Varun

    MUMBAU: Lux has yet again created a buzz in the innerwear category by signing on Bollywood star Varun Dhawan, the heartthrob of Young India, as its new brand ambassador for Lux Cozi.

    Lux Industries is known for its innovative and customer-demand driven product offerings, manufacturing more than 100 products across 12 major brands.

    Lux Industries senior vice-president – operations and strategy Saket Todi said, “With fresh zeal and perspective, Lux has a structured plan of reaching out to the youth fraternity focusing on ideas in sync with the brand attributes. Lux Cozi is one of the most popular and the largest market share holder in the economy to the mid-segment of men’s innerwear..”

    On signing on Varun, Todi elaborated, “Over the years, Varun has carved a niche in the minds of the film buffs and critics alike. His style and fashion sense makes him endearing to all sections of the audience cutting across age groups, especially the youth.”

    Lux senior VP Udit Todi said, “A significant section of young audience connects with Varun and we believe will work in favour with our strategy to reach out to the youth of this country.”

    Dhawan said, “I really liked the vibe of the ad campaign when I met with the creative team.”

  • HCL Tech fastest growing services brand: Brand Finance

    HCL Tech fastest growing services brand: Brand Finance

    MUMBAI: HCL Technologies, a leading global IT services provider, has emerged as the fastest growing global IT services brand in the world moving upwards by 122 ranks over the last year, in the 2017 Brand Finance Global 500 report. HCL’s brand value has surged by 38% over the last year. HCL now ranks at number 378th with a brand value of $4,463 million and AA+ brand rating.

    Brand Finance CEO David Haigh said “Digital and technology brands have made great strides in the 21st century, reflected in their soaring valuations. Amongst leading global brands that we have tracked, of great interest is HCL Technologies, which has become the fastest growing global IT services brand. It already has an industry leading brand rating of AA+, which is likely to improve as a result of its focused Mode 1-2-3 strategy, strong brand promise and employee culture, in turn leading to continued, strong brand value growth for HCL”.

    HCL Technologies CMO Matt Preschern said, “This is a proud moment for over 110,000 HCLites. Our strategic and best-in-class initiatives augmenting our capabilities across the technology ecosystem, have made us a partner of choice for the 21st Century Enterprises. We have been working very hard in creating significant business value for our stakeholders, empowering our employees and sustaining positive impact on the ecosystem. The continuous growth in HCL’s brand demonstrates our strength across all parameters of evaluation and the value we are creating for customers through our Mode 1-2-3 strategy”.

    The methodology adopted by Brand Finance includes assessing the business model, customer satisfaction & engagement, employee engagement, CSR & community engagement and business performance. HCL has been recognized for consistently creating exceptional value for its customers through its unique Mode 1-2-3 business strategy strengthened by the promise of Relationship Beyond the Contract (RBtC) powered by the Ideapreneurship–led culture that fosters grass–root innovation, providing an opportunity to 110,000+ ideapreneurs to ideate, collaborate and create everyday innovative ideas to solve customer’s business problems.

    Earlier HCL won the ITSMA Diamond Award for ‘Building Brand differentiation’ at the 2016 Marketing Excellence Awards, for its innovative “GetAJob@HCLTech” campaign, a first ever in its category. HCL became India’s most preferred millennial employer, surpassing established brands across ecommerce, telecom, technology and FMCG. The Economic Times also recognized HCL amongst top 10 brands in its ‘India’s Top 100 Brands’, 2016 study.

  • 13th BMW Art Car comes to India

    13th BMW Art Car comes to India

    MUMBAI: BMW Group India presents the 13th BMW Art Car created by Italy’s most renowned contemporary artist Sandro Chia. His creation will be exclusively exhibited from 2-5 February 2017 at the India Art Fair in New Delhi. Sandro Chia created the 13th Art Car for BMW in 1992 with the BMW M3 GTR which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017.

    The art car was recently showcased at Quadriennale d’Arte held in Rome from October 13, 2016, to January 7, 2017.

    The BMW Art Cars or the ‘Rolling Sculptures’ are original masterpieces of art that demonstrate an individual synthesis of artistic expression and automobile design. Since 1975, eighteen prominent artists from across the world have created Art Cars on the basis of contemporary BMW automobiles of their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpretations.

    BMW Group India president (act) Frank Schloeder said, “Cultural communication has been one of the long-standing commitments of BMW Group. The partnerships we build strengthen intercultural dialogue and create platforms for multidisciplinary exchange. The BMW Art Cars collection spans the work of prominent artists across continents. Together they form a mirror of contemporary culture, as exemplary as it is unique. Through the exclusive showcase of the BMW Art Car by Sandro Chia at the India Art Fair, we bring yet another coveted masterpiece of art closer to connoisseurs and patrons of art. Visitors will be able to discover the design and creative process of the 13th BMW Art Car at the India Art Fair 2017.”

    BMW Art Cars are an indispensable component and a core platform of BMW Group’s cultural engagement. They are unique creations combining automobiles, technology, design and art.

    It was back in 1992 when Sandro Chia became the only Italian artist so far to be asked to put his mark on a BMW Art Car. The artist decided to give a BMW car a distinctive look; he created a combination of BMW’s design language and the artists’ perspective of multiple gazes of the onlooker and how the car reflects on them.

    For over 40 years, the BMW Art Car Collection has fascinated art and design enthusiasts as well as lovers of cars and technology with its amalgamation of fine art and innovative automobile technology. Several cars from the BMW Art Car Collection are usually on display at the BMW Museum in Munich, the home of BMW Art Cars, as part of its permanent collection. The remaining BMW Art Cars travel the globe – to art fairs as well as exhibitions.

    The BMW Art Car Collection was born when French race car driver and art aficionado Hervé Poulain, together with Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to design an automobile. The result was a BMW 3.0 CSL which competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975, where it quickly became the crowd’s favourite. Since then, 17 international artists have designed BMW models, among them some of the most renowned artists of our time: Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), Frank Stella (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1976), Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320 Group 5, 1977), Andy Warhol (BMW M1 Group 4, 1979), Ernst Fuchs (BMW 635CSi, 1982), Robert Rauschenberg (BMW 635CSi, 1986), Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Ken Done (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Matazo Kayama (BMW 535i, 1990), César Manrique (BMW 730i, 1990), A. R. Penck (BMW Z1, 1991), Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991), Sandro Chia (BMW M3 GTR, 1992), David Hockney (BMW 850CSi, 1995), Jenny Holzer (BMW V12 LMR, 1999), Ólafur Eliasson (BMW H2R, 2007) and Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2, 2010).

    On 19 November 2015, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of BMW Art Cars at Guggenheim Museum in New York, a jury of distinguished museum directors and curators chose Chinese artist Cao Fei and American artist John Baldessari to separately design the next BMW Art Cars in 2017 with the BMW M6 GT3 and BMW M6 GTLM.

    On 30 November 2016, the 19th BMW Art Car designed by John Baldessari celebrated its world premiere at Art Basel Miami Beach. The world premiere of the 18th BMW Art Car designed by Cao Fei is scheduled during the summer of 2017.

    The artist’s pictorial language is in light-hearted contrast to the often tough milieu of the big city, to which he reportedly feels himself drawn: figures of the mythical appearance parade themselves before us in a timeless, bucolic Arcadian setting.

    “I have created both a picture and a world. Everything that is looked at closely turns into a face. A face is a focus, a focus of life and the world,” says Sandro Chia.

    “Paint me, paint me!” the racing car’s surface had called out to him, said Sandro Chia. So he started to paint, painted faces and a sea of intensive colours until the car’s whole bodywork had been completely covered. “The automobile is a much coveted object within our society”, said Sandro Chia commenting on his work. “It is the centre of attraction. People look at it. This car reflects those looks.” The design of the Art Car was not his first artistic involvement with an automobile. Even as a child he painted graffiti on cars.

  • 13th BMW Art Car comes to India

    13th BMW Art Car comes to India

    MUMBAI: BMW Group India presents the 13th BMW Art Car created by Italy’s most renowned contemporary artist Sandro Chia. His creation will be exclusively exhibited from 2-5 February 2017 at the India Art Fair in New Delhi. Sandro Chia created the 13th Art Car for BMW in 1992 with the BMW M3 GTR which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017.

    The art car was recently showcased at Quadriennale d’Arte held in Rome from October 13, 2016, to January 7, 2017.

    The BMW Art Cars or the ‘Rolling Sculptures’ are original masterpieces of art that demonstrate an individual synthesis of artistic expression and automobile design. Since 1975, eighteen prominent artists from across the world have created Art Cars on the basis of contemporary BMW automobiles of their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpretations.

    BMW Group India president (act) Frank Schloeder said, “Cultural communication has been one of the long-standing commitments of BMW Group. The partnerships we build strengthen intercultural dialogue and create platforms for multidisciplinary exchange. The BMW Art Cars collection spans the work of prominent artists across continents. Together they form a mirror of contemporary culture, as exemplary as it is unique. Through the exclusive showcase of the BMW Art Car by Sandro Chia at the India Art Fair, we bring yet another coveted masterpiece of art closer to connoisseurs and patrons of art. Visitors will be able to discover the design and creative process of the 13th BMW Art Car at the India Art Fair 2017.”

    BMW Art Cars are an indispensable component and a core platform of BMW Group’s cultural engagement. They are unique creations combining automobiles, technology, design and art.

    It was back in 1992 when Sandro Chia became the only Italian artist so far to be asked to put his mark on a BMW Art Car. The artist decided to give a BMW car a distinctive look; he created a combination of BMW’s design language and the artists’ perspective of multiple gazes of the onlooker and how the car reflects on them.

    For over 40 years, the BMW Art Car Collection has fascinated art and design enthusiasts as well as lovers of cars and technology with its amalgamation of fine art and innovative automobile technology. Several cars from the BMW Art Car Collection are usually on display at the BMW Museum in Munich, the home of BMW Art Cars, as part of its permanent collection. The remaining BMW Art Cars travel the globe – to art fairs as well as exhibitions.

    The BMW Art Car Collection was born when French race car driver and art aficionado Hervé Poulain, together with Jochen Neerpasch, then BMW Motorsport Director, asked his artist friend Alexander Calder to design an automobile. The result was a BMW 3.0 CSL which competed in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1975, where it quickly became the crowd’s favourite. Since then, 17 international artists have designed BMW models, among them some of the most renowned artists of our time: Alexander Calder (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1975), Frank Stella (BMW 3.0 CSL, 1976), Roy Lichtenstein (BMW 320 Group 5, 1977), Andy Warhol (BMW M1 Group 4, 1979), Ernst Fuchs (BMW 635CSi, 1982), Robert Rauschenberg (BMW 635CSi, 1986), Michael Jagamara Nelson (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Ken Done (BMW M3 Group A, 1989), Matazo Kayama (BMW 535i, 1990), César Manrique (BMW 730i, 1990), A. R. Penck (BMW Z1, 1991), Esther Mahlangu (BMW 525i, 1991), Sandro Chia (BMW M3 GTR, 1992), David Hockney (BMW 850CSi, 1995), Jenny Holzer (BMW V12 LMR, 1999), Ólafur Eliasson (BMW H2R, 2007) and Jeff Koons (BMW M3 GT2, 2010).

    On 19 November 2015, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of BMW Art Cars at Guggenheim Museum in New York, a jury of distinguished museum directors and curators chose Chinese artist Cao Fei and American artist John Baldessari to separately design the next BMW Art Cars in 2017 with the BMW M6 GT3 and BMW M6 GTLM.

    On 30 November 2016, the 19th BMW Art Car designed by John Baldessari celebrated its world premiere at Art Basel Miami Beach. The world premiere of the 18th BMW Art Car designed by Cao Fei is scheduled during the summer of 2017.

    The artist’s pictorial language is in light-hearted contrast to the often tough milieu of the big city, to which he reportedly feels himself drawn: figures of the mythical appearance parade themselves before us in a timeless, bucolic Arcadian setting.

    “I have created both a picture and a world. Everything that is looked at closely turns into a face. A face is a focus, a focus of life and the world,” says Sandro Chia.

    “Paint me, paint me!” the racing car’s surface had called out to him, said Sandro Chia. So he started to paint, painted faces and a sea of intensive colours until the car’s whole bodywork had been completely covered. “The automobile is a much coveted object within our society”, said Sandro Chia commenting on his work. “It is the centre of attraction. People look at it. This car reflects those looks.” The design of the Art Car was not his first artistic involvement with an automobile. Even as a child he painted graffiti on cars.