This was the first ad, issued by BMW in a magazine in 2006. Watch the rest…

The German counterpart of the “Bayrische MotorWerke”, Audi who is targetted by BMWs ad, replies by praising its successes at the hardest endurance race of the world : Le Mans.

Cleverly, Subaru takes advantage of the situation to advertise for its engines. Since, Subaru quitted rally racing sponsorship… and Subaru designers are not flattered by the statement neither.

Last but not least : Bentley gives it all the finger ! Bentley never recognized issuing this ad, and some say it’s photoshopped. I doubt that the chairman of the British car manufacturer would support the taste… And if you take the advert out of context (the dangers of the web…), it could seriously harm the company. Anyway, watch this :

The series of ads is very funny. But except the two original “actors” BMW and Audi, what do the others do in the battle ? While Bentley is also part of the Volkswagen group (like Audi), Subaru apparently is a bit isolated in the game. And an a certain way, it’s what the message of “Bentley” is all about. But even if the campaign of Bentley is not official, the battle made it through the world, and the implicated brands undoubtfully took advantage of it.

What about comparative advertising ? Legally, American policy seems to encourage this kind of communication : “Comparative advertising, when truthful and non-deceptive, is a source of important information to consumers and assists them in making rational purchase decisions“, especially because they “know of no rule of law which prevents a seller from honestly informing the public of the advantages of its products as opposed to those of competing products“. Ok, but if we count on the advertisers to take purchasing decisions, we would be lost ! Luckilly, we can still count on our minds.

Just for the bonus, here is a last (genuine) one. Enjoy !