Bless My Wish-BMW China
The Best Horse Year Belongs to BMW
The translation and summary on this page were generated with AI. Some expressions or proper nouns may be translated inaccurately, so please check the English original for the precise content.
AI Translation Summary
For Chinese New Year 2026, the Year of the Horse, BMW leaned on the fact that its Chinese name means "The Best Horse" — making this its year. The brand built twelve giant installation artworks, each mounted on the roof of a different BMW, and drove them down Shanghai's busiest streets on New Year's Eve. Every piece hides a Chinese homophone or lucky symbol carrying a New Year wish. The rolling art show drew thousands of onlookers and reached tens of millions online.
Cultural Context
The whole campaign rests on Chinese wordplay: BMW's Chinese name 宝马 (Bǎomǎ) means "precious/best horse," linking the brand to the 2026 Year of the Horse. Each rooftop object is a spoken-Chinese pun or traditional New Year symbol — chopsticks sound like "happiness," tangyuan rice balls mean "reunion," a tomato (柿) sounds like "market/listing" — blessings that vanish in literal translation. The English headline also hides B-M-W as an acrostic.
Entry Information
Summary
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, the legendary automobile brand BMW aims to attract more Chinese people's love and attention to BMW through a unique communication campaign. 2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. In China, the Chinese name for the BMW brand is "The Best Horse", so "The Best Horse year" is a BMW year. We have created and designed twelve pieces of installation art for BMW. Each installation is crafted through a combination of mechanical precision and manual skill, and securely installed on the roof of different BMW models. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, twelve BMW cars carrying giant installation artworks were driving along the landmark bustling streets of Shanghai.
Strategy
2026 is the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. In China, the Chinese name for the BMW brand is "The Best Horse", so "The Best Horse year" is a BMW year. We have created and designed twelve pieces of installation art for BMW. Each installation is crafted through a combination of mechanical precision and manual skill, and securely installed on the roof of different BMW models. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, twelve BMW cars carrying giant installation artworks were driving along the landmark bustling streets of Shanghai.
Execution
We have created and designed twelve pieces of installation art for BMW. These installations are not just visually impressive, but also carry the best wishes for the Year of the Horse, symbolizing different meanings. Such as red is a symbol of good fortune during the Chinese New Year, the red lantern symbolizes: The Best Horse (BMW) wishes you supreme good fortune; Chopsticks have a homophonic meaning of "happiness" in Chinese, symbolizing: The Best Horse (BMW) wishes you happy right away; Glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) in Chinese have a homophonic meaning with "reunion." Symbolizing: This installation piece involves wrapping a bed with a massive sugar paper, symbolizing: The Best Horse (BMW) wishes you a sweet dream......
Results
This series of installation artworks has attracted thousands of people to gather on the streets to watch. The exposure on social media has reached tens of millions of people. A distinctive marketing approach stands out in the celebration of the Year of the Horse.