AD Agencies
BMW India hands creative mandate to VML’s Contract Advertising
GURUGRAM: BMW India has handed its creative mandate to VML’s Contract Advertising India, drawing the curtain on Rediffusion’s three-year stint and debuting a new brand platform, Drive your match, as it sharpens its pitch in an increasingly crowded luxury car market. The move follows a review of BMW India’s creative business and signals a recalibration of its marketing strategy to mirror evolving brand and commercial priorities.
Rediffusion had managed BMW India’s strategy, creative, digital and dealer communication since 2022, operating out of its Delhi office. The account has now moved to Contract Advertising India, a WPP agency under the VML network, as BMW looks to refresh its voice and deepen emotional resonance with Indian consumers.
The first work out of the new partnership, Drive your match, pivots the conversation from ownership to identity. The campaign leans on choice and individuality, positioning BMW cars as personalised expressions aligned with customers’ lifestyles and aspirations rather than as mass luxury products.
BMW India director–marketing Vitesh Barar, said the campaign aims to elevate the brand’s emotional connect. He added that in an Indian market where aspirations are becoming increasingly personal, the platform reinforces BMW’s positioning as a companion in individual journeys while staying distinctly premium.
Contract Advertising India is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Delhi and Bengaluru, and offers integrated creative services across design, digital, social media and brand consulting. BMW India’s media duties continue with Lodestar, which retained the integrated media account in 2022 after a multi-agency pitch.
The creative rejig comes as competition tightens at the top end of India’s car market. BMW India clocked its highest-ever annual sales of 17,271 units in 2025, up 15.05 per cent year on year, narrowing the gap with market leader Mercedes-Benz India, which sold 19,007 units, down 2.85 per cent. Industry observers see BMW’s renewed focus on brand storytelling as a bid to sustain momentum and close the remaining distance.
