You’re spot on with this one. I was going to write about this myself. Huge mistake moving up to an undifferentiated emotional benefit. “The Ultimate Driving Machine” gave them purpose. It also transferred a badge of competence to their owners… “If own the ultimate driving machine, I must be an ultimate driver.”

The fact is, there’s joy in owning any car. And thus, BMW as we have known and loved it, is dead.

I am not a BMW owner or car enthusiast, but I always admired BMW for their cars and the passion they elicit from their owners. This campaign feels defensive to me and must be an attempt to broaden their users beyond their core enthusiasts. While I understand that strategy, for BMW to try to own “joy” seems just weird.
In addition, Audi is coming at them with directly competitive ads that I believe will have impact.
BMW feels like a brand that is struggling to figure a way to deal with declining sales in recessionary times. I think they’ve gone off course.