BMW x NAS — Art Basel Miami
challenge
Create and execute an experiential BMW XM reveal with NAS in under 8 weeks. Build a reveal mechanism no one had seen before — the car hidden inside a glass box, concealed in smoke, unveiled at a precise musical cue.
approach
I led the creative direction and production end-to-end. The XM was hidden in a cloud of smoke and revealed as industrial ventilators cleared — timed exactly to NAS performing 'If I Ruled the World.' The Lincoln 1111 building, normally a brutalist Miami parking lot, was transformed into a living aura with XM logo projections visible from Downtown. On-site execution in 3 days, coordinating US producers, Superstars Management, agency partner PacificMedia, and the client. I also crafted the Nas + Kennedy Yanko storytelling concept with The Face Magazine as editorial partner.
impact
Timbaland, Tremaine Emory, Michèle Lamy in the room. BMW XM landed at the intersection of art, hip-hop, and culture — and felt genuinely earned.
The brief was simple and impossible: reveal BMW's new XM model at Art Basel Miami with NAS performing, in under 8 weeks. The reveal mechanism had to be something no one had seen — and it had to feel like a cultural moment, not a product launch.
The car sat inside a glass box, completely hidden in a cloud of smoke. As NAS performed, industrial ventilators slowly cleared the smoke — the XM emerged precisely as he hit the peak of 'If I Ruled the World.' Every second of that reveal was choreographed. The entire on-site build took 3 days.
The Lincoln 1111 building — normally a brutalist Miami parking lot — became a living installation. We mapped BMW XM logo projections across the entire facade, visible from Downtown Miami, turning the building itself into pre-communication. I also worked with The Face Magazine to build the Nas + Kennedy Yanko storytelling concept that ran alongside the event, connecting Nas's admiration for BMW with Yanko's sculptural artistry.
Shot on Yashica analog film alongside the digital documentation — a deliberate choice to match the event's collision of heritage and forward momentum.
“When the car and the music and the room all say the same thing at the same moment, people remember it forever. That was the goal.”
— BMW Partner