The BMW Slogan – Consume its Corpse, Please…

I have always been fascinated by the Situationists, the revolutionary crypto-anarchic collective that sloganeered their way through the Paris student revolution of the late 1960s. My personal favourite is “Art is dead: do not consume its corpse.” Now that’s a slogan!

The Situationists were to have a seminal influence on the punk movement around which a deal of my adolescence was constructed. They were, as eny fule no, just dead cool.

There’s a tremendous power to slogans, a way of condensing and simplifying thoughts that can become catchy, even thought-provoking. The wonderful world of advertising obviously became a very early adopter, two that I’ll probably never shake (because they’ve been drummed into me through massive repetition), ‘A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play’ and, more recently, ‘Al Futtaim Motors, we care and it shows’.

Do they? Does it? Doubt it, but the slogan’s etched on what passes for my brain, for what it’s worth…

However…

BMW’s advertisement on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road has a slogan. Oh yes. “Joy leads; others prosper” the advertisement thunders – like Situationist slogans, often deliberately provocative and wilfully obtuse, the advertisement attracts attention by its seeming simple meaning.

Unlike the Situationists, it’s actually not very clever.

It actually means absolutely nothing whatsoever. It’s just mindless drivel constructed by mediocre intellects, an unwelcome flashback to the constant blare of ‘Dare to Dream’ dross that characterised the Dubai Property Boom. Does it intend to characterise Joy as the ownership of a BMW? I’d rather prosper, thanks. Or perhaps it’s saying that other cars are Joy and BMW owners are prosperous. Perhaps someone called Joy has bought a BMW? But then who’s prospering? The guy that sold it to her made commission, I suppose…

Yeah, I know I should drive past and ignore it. But it’s like a grocer’s apostrophe. It niggles…

by Alexander McNabb

This comment is published thanks to Alexander McNabb and his blog, Fake Plastic Souks. In addition to being a Director at Spot On, Alex is a radio pundit, writes columns in newspapers, and has recently finished his second novel, Beirut.

Follow me Website