As Jeremy Clarkson might put it, 'Top Gear' is one of the BBC's biggest and most important brands ... in the world.
As well as being the bestselling TV format internationally for the Corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, the brand has become a multi-platform juggernaut. From DVDs, it has expanded into areas such as live events and the 'Top Gear' Turbo Challenge partwork for children.
BBC Worldwide claims that the latter has become the "biggest partwork property in the UK by volume and is expected to generate a significant profit".
So why are the wheels of this juggernaut in danger of falling off? When the BBC revived Top Gear in 2002, the new hangar-based format and focus on motoring challenges and laddish banter, rather than the minutiae of each car's engine, proved an instant hit.
In recent series, however, the banter has begun to appear forced, the format tired and even the show's producer admitted that the hosts – Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond - were "playing to their TV cartoon characters a bit too much".
Yet Top Gear remains successful internationally, helping to bring in £147.3m in revenue in the year to the end of March, up 15% year on year, and is still BBC Two's biggest show; any alterations to the format will therefore have to be made with caution.
So what next? We asked Mark Ellis, deputy managing director, Syzygy UK, which works with Mazda, and Top Gear fan Simon Marjoram, managing director of Bamboo Marketing.
MARK ELLIS, deputy managing director, Syzygy UK
What was once a passionate and hilarious show by and for motoring enthusiasts has become little more than a series of profligate boys' stunts. It has lost its way, as well as its core "petrol-head" audience, with the current (14th) series delivering average ratings of 5.5 million, down from about eight million in 2008.
Hammond, May and Clarkson seem to be under the impression that they are now stand-up comedians and have diluted 'Top Gear''s brand value with Morrisons ads, Big Ideas and The World According to Clarkson.
The format has not evolved either – cut to The Stig driving round the same track followed by a bit on customising a crap car/camper van/boat ending in a race to a place with a double-entendre name.
With the competition improving to offer a viable alternative, Freeview channel Dave airing endless repeats that overexpose the brand and long-standing producer Andy Wilman hinting that it's the end of the road, 'Top Gear''s time may be up – especially given the BBC's axe-wielding momentum.
This is a classic case of spreading a brand too thinly, forgetting its roots, heritage and the very reasons for its once-overwhelming popularity.
Remedy
- Pause to assess the brand and understand what viewers want and what has worked in the past.
- Evolve it in line with its core offering – return with a different format, presenter team and buzz.
- Involve the gather-round live audience online and via user-generated content to come up with fresh ideas.
- Knit sports/media celebrities into the show's fabric rather than the current 10-minute-or-less interview with the week's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
SIMON MARJORAM, managing director, Bamboo Marketing
"Come on Richard, do your 'I don't beliiieve it!' line ..."
As the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for ... you just might get it. How true that is for those who seek celebrity. As fast as they become a household name, they also become a byword, a ridiculed caricature of themselves, plagued by the public's expectations to conform and deliver tried-and-trusted routines that have become part of the entertainment lexicon; familiarity breeds contempt.
And so it seems that the Three 'Top Gear' Musketeers are themselves falling from grace. The cheeky trio unleashed to add "personality" to a staid car magazine format have now developed into wildly overexposed 'personalities' who overshadow their parent programme.
Whether or not the antics of Clarkson, May and Hammond are staged and contrived, the fact is that the content has become predictable.
Despite the promise of "new sensible 'Top Gear'", could it be too late for the current presenters to undo the damage and reverse sliding audience figures?
Remedy
- Scrap the show and create a spin-off sitcom showcasing the talents of The Stig. Long on stunt driving, short on pithy dialogue. I'd possibly watch that.
- Without regressing to the tedium of the William Woollard days, boost the car review quotient to draw back the petrol-head audience without alienating the kids who tune in for the slapstick and mums who want to smother The Hamster. I'd probably watch that.
- Do a 'Have I Got News For You': use a series of surprise anchor presenters to introduce spontaneity, variety and serendipity. "Come on Alan Carr, tell us about the Dacia Sandero!" Now I'd definitely watch that.