“Activate the Future” is a title of the new series of online videos produced to promote the BMW‘s new electric car ActiveE. The main idea behind these 4 short movies is to show mobility as it was understood in the past and reveal the present and future interpretation of this concept.

As part of the ActiveE advertising campaign, BMW introduced a new hub at www.bmwactivatethefuture.com where it will be publishing videos of the campaign throughout February. The first video dubbed ‘Wherever You Want To Go’ is already available. The second movie will debut on the February 1.

“Wherever You Want To Go” is not meant to provide definitive answers, but rather, to ask the right questions from the right people in an attempt to generate discussion, provoke thought and stir the imagination. As part of the Activate the Future website, viewers are also encouraged to click and comment on various points throughout the documentary», say authors of the project at the dedicated website.

The movies were created by Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners agency, and feature such American celebrities as Marissa Mayer, Google vice president of location services, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Blade Runner designer Syd Mead, etc. The main point of the movies is to attract public interest to ActiveE, a new electric car sheduled for release in 2013. In summer 2011, BMW will make ActiveE available to select motorists for a limited lease with the aim to perform the field trial and receive feedback before an official release.

The format of the advertising campaign was largely influenced by the format of the ActiveE open innovation project. In course of it, BMW hired auto enthusiasts to participate in a «collective engineering» initiative. The task of the experts was to perform the field trial of the new car and give their feedback on the car. So, by using online media to promote its newest technological development, BMW aims to generate collective discussion of the results of «collective engineering» project.

According to Mashable.com, «BMW’s recent focus on social media comes to show the importance of non-traditional advertising spaces, with the online world become a somewhat cheaper, but more effective way to reach potential customers and fans».