W+K Shangai Turns An Everyday Dad into The Matrix's Neo for BMW's All-New X3 Campaign

For the launch of The All-New BMW X3, BMW wanted to celebrate the spirit of reliability by transforming a loving and dedicated father into a superhero in their latest short film.

In today’s world, the Chinese middle class is under immense pressure to balance societal expectations of both modern and traditional responsibilities. The film tells a story about the struggle to balance work and life through our hero, a father.

To acknowledge and celebrate the people we depend on, BMW in collaboration with Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai announced a 14-minute film on Father’s Day for the X3 – the reliable car for reliable people. The full film was released on July 3rd, the same day as the All-New BMW X3.

The short film features film star Mark Zhao, playing a parent whose son lovingly watches him deal with the pressure of being a reliable father and a successful businessman. 

However, because the son does not fully understand the complexity of his father’s life, he imagines a fantastical world where in order to spend time with him his father must fight off imaginary villains such as a Dark Queen, a gang of Kung Fu fighters and hostile kidnappers in order to spend time with his son. He ultimately escapes them all in a dramatic car chase with the help of The All-New BMW X3. The film also features Song Jia, who is constantly misunderstood by the son because she appears to be stealing his father away. Over the course of the film it is revealed that she is Mark’s colleague and a great example of the modern independent Chinese woman.

Okan Usta, creative director at W+K Shanghai, commented, “Reliability is a quality that is often taken for granted, yet we all need that person who is the anchor of stability in our lives. We wanted to make their struggle larger than life by showing it through the wild imagination of a child. It's a universal insight that touches so many lives, including mine as a new father.”

The film ends with a powerful tribute to the modern Chinese achievers, dedicated "to those whose superpower is to always be there for us.”