In a triumph of advertising for both the luxury car company and the Cupertino electronics firm, Bentley filmed its most recent ad completely on iOS devices manufactured by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). This achievement, Apple Insider reports, is calculated to build enthusiasm for one of the features in the Mulsanne, Bentley’s latest luxury auto with a base price of around $300,000. This miniature rolling palace includes a full electronics suite, an optional Wi-Fi hotspot, and two powered tables with iPad holders and a space to put an Apple wireless keyboard.
The crisp, HD quality video, entitled “Intelligent Details,” was shot entirely using Apple (AAPL) iPhone 5S smartphones, highlighting the fact that the phone’s camera is high quality enough to emulate a full sized movie camera setup. Available on YouTube, the video “mini documentary” runs for a total of four minutes and 25 seconds. Once filming was complete, it was spliced, cut, and edited using an Apple iPad of the same type that fit in the Mulsanne’s holders.
Bentley’s choice to shoot the ad in black and white has drawn some negative commentary. The most common charge is that the choice of black and white filming (or at least editing) is to cover the artifacts and other visual problems caused by filming on an iPhone camera. However, many prominent advertisements have also been shot on iPhone cameras in color, so there seems little point in attempting to conceal the results in a single ad. A more likely explanation is that the lack of full color is an aesthetic choice rather than a technical one.
Another peculiarity of the advertisement is that it seems firmly focused on Apple (AAPL) iOS products rather than the Bentley Mulsanne itself. This might be viewed as a shrewd choice, however. The names of “Apple,” “iPhone,” “iOS,” and “iPad” are far more recognizable than “Mulsanne,” so using them repeatedly develops an associative link in the viewer’s mind. Thinking of iPhones and iPad will now cause people who watched the ad to think of Bentley and the Mulsanne also, greatly widening the car’s presence in the mental landscape of consumers.
In other words, Bentley is attempting to get some of Apple’s fame and prominence to rub off on its new car model. At the same time, Apple’s (AAPL) reputation as an elite brand suitable for discriminating consumers such as elegant British aristocrats is also enhanced. The ad is a well-balanced and carefully planned marketing symbiosis that manages to boost both companies’ overall exposure and snob appeal.
