Dancing cephalopod takes centre stage in BMW brand campaign

No, you heard that right. Octopuses are intelligent sea creatures, known for having three hearts and their stealthy capabilities. But "Okto", the name given to this cephalopod, is shown twirling and prancing around the seabed, performing a perfectly coordinated underwater choreography that BMW says serves as an analogy for its new Heart of Joy central control unit.

The Heart of Joy passed its first public performance test at the 2025 Auto Shanghai and will make its debut in the BMW Neue Klasse models, intelligently coordinating key driving functions. BMW will also expand this technology into its future models, allowing everyone to share the joy, so to speak.

Here's Okto doing his best attempt at a Korean finger heart. That, or he's rubbing his hands in glee at the anticipation of world domination. You never can tell with these cephalopods

So, what exactly does it do?  Well, the Heart of Joy unit combines with the BMW Dynamic Performance Control software stack to centrally control the powertrain, brakes, and recuperation as well as some steering functions. Compared to previous systems, the new control unit processes driving information around 10 times faster and responds more directly to the driver than ever before.

This isn’t the first time an octopus has made the headlines in Germany, either. Diehard football supporters will remember Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted 12 out of 14 results during the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament from his tank at the Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen.

Don’t worry, no harm was done to Okto. In fact, I’m pretty sure the video, which will be shown online and in cinemas worldwide, is animated. I simply cannot comprehend the idea of an octopus willingly spinning like a ballerina on the seafloor and allowing itself to be treated like a circus monkey. Then again, in this day and age, who knows what to believe anymore.