Rewriting the Rules: Mark Sitley on the Legacy and Lessons of BMW Films
Naked City’s Mark Sitley was executive producer of the original BMW Film Series, involved from its inception as part of his job as head of North American Production at Fallon. Before that, he produced for Porsche, VW, and Audi when he was at DDB, Saab at Ally & Gargano, and then Jaguar and Int’l Volvo at Euro.
Q> As one of the OG car producers in advertising, could you describe what makes a car commercial different from a regular one?
Mark> What makes car advertising distinct is that you’re not just selling a product—you’re selling aspiration. A car carries identity, freedom, power—it’s not just toothpaste or laundry detergent. Many people don’t realise that the production challenge, on the whole, is that filmically one is shooting what’s basically a mirrored box. Though with the BMW Films, we weren’t really making commercials at all. We were making entertainment.
Q> What made BMW Films stand out from other car campaigns?
Mark> It’s fascinating and somewhat disheartening that the BMW films have remained a gold standard of branded content. It was so new in its day, there was no name for it. It was using the internet as a medium, as opposed to conventional broadcast. It was novel just for that reason alone.
Q> Was there a specific problem they were trying to solve?
Mark> BMW wasn't a brand that had a history of repeat customers. Research told us that BMW owners didn’t watch a hell of a lot of TV, so there was no point in spending millions of dollars on a media buy to run commercials that the potential buyers for that product weren't going to see. The BMW films were a very clever solution to this. They were not made for television.
Q> So the films weren’t even aired on television?
Mark> They were made for a player that you could download onto your computer. It was as if you were downloading an app in today's world. The idea was that a professional on a plane, perhaps creating a PowerPoint deck, or heading out to a board meeting, could just watch one of these entertainments in their downtime. We were trying to reach people that couldn't be conventionally reached.
Q> So it wasn’t just the content, it was the delivery model too?
Mark> Exactly. This decision was a paradigm shift in the business. It wasn't just that the BMW Films were made, but how they were made. The convention was never to spend more than 10% max of the media budget on what is called today content production. BMW flipped that: we spent all the money on making the films and just a fraction on distribution—and building the tech infrastructure to deliver them.
Q> And it worked?
Mark> Oh, it worked. Sales went up. People were engaged. And here’s the kicker: the films were also reaching younger audiences—people who weren’t supposed to matter because they “couldn’t afford” BMWs. But those people started buying used BMWs. Suddenly, the brand had a resale market. It became an entry point into the brand ecosystem.
Q> Let’s talk about the directors. How were they chosen and what kind of creative freedom were they given?
Mark> They were not chosen by the agency. For the most part, they were chosen by curated executive producers in the Hollywood film community. For the first group of films, the directors were picked in collaboration with David Fincher (who the agency had approached) and the great agency creatives, David Carter and Joe Sweet. The second batch were overseen by Ridley and Tony Scott. I must confess, creative meetings with them were a major highlight of my ad career.
These talents couldn't do whatever they wanted, but they could do close enough to it, until our client might say that's just a little bit not to our liking, to our brand. BMW would step in if something didn’t feel aligned with the brand (once, big-tie), but—for the most part—all the directors were trusted. You can’t bring in someone like a Fincher or a Scott and then micromanage. You get out of the way—or you respectfully try to.
Q> Did each director bring their own story to the table? How involved were they in shaping the narratives?
Mark> The agency created scores of one-page creative treatments. Then the directors had their faves and came to us with their own visions. Oddly or logically enough, many directors thought that the films had to have embedded within them commercial content—and that was the last thing we wanted. We always let any shots of the car framed just beautifully, with the logo predominant, hit the cutting room floor. We just wanted the cars to be part of the story, treated like a prop.
Q> Was there ever any pushback from the directors about creative direction? Or moments where you had to say, “Try again”?
Mark> Honestly, not really. The directors had more freedom than they ever would in a normal commercial setting. And we weren’t giving them notes like a studio would. It was usually like, “Cool. Let’s do it.” The only time you’d push back was if something truly didn’t work—but that was very, very rare.
Q> Were there any memorable behind-the-scenes moments or stories from making the films?
Mark> Oh yeah, tons. One favourite is from the Guy Ritchie episode. It was originally written for Eminem—very Slim Shady energy. But then Guy had this brilliant idea: what if the star was a woman? Not necessarily angry or hostile, but someone formidable. We landed on Courtney Love—it just felt right. But Guy’s then-wife, Madonna, ended up starring in the film. And she had very few demands. It just seems she felt that she was better suited to star in it.
Actually, the biggest behind-the-scenes story was in regard to Beat The Devil, my favourite film. Believe it or not, it was originally to star Marlon Brando, who opted to play the role of the devil. But he insisted that his good friend, Michael Jackson, be the musician at ‘the crossroads’. Well, given Jackson’s controversial predicament at the time, the clients in Germany balked at his being cast. So Brando pulled out, given his loyalty. And with only 10 days before filming began, we were fortunate enough to have Tony Scott convince Gary Oldman to take the satanic role and then obtain the services (and catalogue!) of the great James Brown as the guy seeking career renewal.
By the way, the amazing thing about that film is that there are no special effects; it was shot ‘live’, using a variety of film stocks Sir Ridley had privately stored.
Q> And all of this worked because the client trusted the agency?
Mark> Completely. Jim McDowell, the CMO of BMW, deserves immense credit. He took one of the biggest risks I’ve ever seen a marketing exec take. He bravely spent his entire annual budget on something no one had ever done before—essentially a series of short films directed by major filmmakers. You have to believe in something strongly, even if you don’t exactly know what the hell it is at the time. That belief and the conviction of all of us at Fallon carried the whole thing.
Q> How do you see the films fitting into the evolution of advertising?
Mark> I think they were a turning point. The first truly successful example of internet-native branded content. They were brave, well-made, and they actually worked—not just in terms of buzz, but in moving product. That’s a rare trifecta in this business.
