BMW Defeats Audi in a Game of Chess

BMW advertisement (note the billboard in the background as well)
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I am not much of a car person, but I must say this advertisement definitely got my attention. I like the creativity in having the two billboards play off of one another. In order to understand the advertisement, the two parts of the ad must be seen in the same frame. This could be challenging given that most of the viewers are driving by and might not have much time to see both billboards and understand the message on the fly. However, the placement of the "punch line" part of the ad ("checkmate") is in front, implying to viewers that there is more to the story, and to keep their eyes open for the other segment of the ad.

BMW cleverly uses the comparison-contrast technique, as discussed in class last week, to encourage the consumer to buy their product rather than their competitor's, in this case, Audi. In fact, this image relays quite a few comparisons and contrasts. Let's take a look:

The Game of Chess

Just like a strategic game of chess, there is a strategy in this ad and that is to idealize BMW. In the game between BMW and Audi, BMW wins. BMW is marketing their brand of car as being one step ahead of its biggest competitor, just as a chess player wins by being a step ahead of his or her opponent. To analyze even deeper into the chess metaphor, BMW portrays its product as the "king of cars" that remains standing, while the Audi is forced to stand down, or surrender to BMW.

Colour Contrast

Another obvious contrast between the product and its competitor is the colour choice. The white BMW on the black background really accentuates the bold and sleek qualities of the car. The BMW also has a shadow that helps make the car stick out, giving it a bold, three-dimensional feel. The Audi is black on a white background and doesn't give the same full effect of prominence that the image of the BMW has.

Arrangement


The portrait arrangement of the BMW image makes it seem larger and adds to the dominance of the product over the Audi. As mentioned earlier, the billboard placement makes sense to the readers eye because the the viewer notices the featured product first, and then looks for the counterpart of the ad. If you have the opportunity to step back and see the advertisement in its full form, it also makes sense that the dialogue is arranged left to right. This follows our natural habit of reading and having two separate billboards gives a page turning perspective.

Dialogue

Finally the two different voices in the dialogue of this ad implies that Audi is passing the torch so-to-speak. One might argue that Audi is saying "your move BMW" with a vulnerable tone; whereas BMW's "Checkmate." is very confident and outsmarts its competitor. Again we see BMW coming out on top, and that the game is over; there is nothing else Audi can do to redeem itself, BMW wins.