BMW is taking direct aim at Tesla Motors Inc. in new ads for its 330e electric plug-in hybrid. Two new TV spots don't mention Tesla by name. But the implications are clear that BMW is taking a jab at the startup electric car maker and the fact that the much-hyped Tesla Model 3 won't be available for a long while.
The ads -- which will air during the Olympics -- are by boutique agency The Vault of New York. The shop won the assignment after a proposal for the work was issued in May, said Jon Paley, the agency's chief creative officer and managing partner. MDC Partners-owned KBS remains BMW's lead creative agency, a BMW spokesman confirmed.
One ad shows a sad-looking man sitting on his front porch. "You will wait, and wait and wait some more -- all before that electric car company's new model ever even arrives," says the voiceover, before promoting the BMW 330e as "the car you've been waiting for without the wait." Another ad shows a woman walking by two empty charging stations in a parking lot before jumping in her BMW 330e.