Sections: JCW, Marketing, Video Jul 22nd, 2008 5 Comments This video could be considered a trailer for the just released MINI JCW. It features the same two cars that we’ve seen in much of the promotion footage so far.
Sections: Best of the Web, Marketing, Video Jun 7th, 2008 3 Comments 
For the kid in all of us, ThinkGeek is now selling thumb-sized R/C MINI Coopers.
With the current fuel crisis forcing people into smaller and smaller vehicles and spelling impending doom for society as we know it… we figured it was a perfect time to offer these Thumb-Size R/C Mini Coopers. Their all-electric engines run off of button type batteries and are very fuel efficient. Hey… they can’t carry much groceries in the trunk, but they do feature full control with forward/reverse and right/left turning… plus the remote looks like a tiny cellphone. Take that high gas prices!
Just watch these little guys go!
Sections: In the Press, Marketing, R55 Jun 1st, 2008 6 Comments 
MINI Press Release Munich/Vienna. Videos whirred and cameras clicked on Saturday, 17 May, when Joseph Corre drove the Life Ball MINI 2008 over the red carpet outside Vienna’s City Hall in front of 40,000 spectators. Escorted by four models in “British policemen’s uniforms”, and with Sophie Ellis Bextor in the passenger seat, the arrival of the Life Ball MINI 2008 marked the start of the fantastic opening show.
The Life Ball MINI is traditionally created by the fashion designer responsible for the fashion show in the opening event - and in 2008, this was the British lingerie label Agent Provocateur. This year, the new MINI Cooper Clubman was selected as the basis for this exclusive, unique design. “The new shape is so reminiscent of the old English Mini police van that we were immediately inspired to create an Agent Provocateur styled interior that you really would want to get banged up in! A classic yet suped up exterior in Agent Provocateur signature pink and black colours complete with pink flashing light and inside…..the most seductive prison cell with hand to wall cuffs and blacked out windows and iron bars”, says Agent Provocateur founder Joseph Corre.
Sections: Best of the Web, Marketing, R56 May 23rd, 2008 1 Comment Face it, we know you are. You are stuck at work on a Friday with nothing to do, really, except find things to kill time until the clock strikes quittin’ time! Luckily for you, MINI has your back.
MINI.co.uk has come up with a very clever site called Banboredom.com. You pick a site or upload an image, wait a few seconds and the next thing you know, an R56 is racing down a tunnel, into an arena full of cheering fans as you go up a ramp, thru the boring and down the other side, skidding gracefully to a stop. Full video after the jump.
Sections: Best of the Web, JCW, Marketing, R55, R56 May 22nd, 2008 50 Comments 
For reals. You can now build out your own JCW R56 or R55.
Or, save it for Friday when you are looking for a way to pass time in the office.
Thanks Eysmahn for the tip!
Sections: Best of the Web, Marketing Feb 10th, 2008 11 Comments 
In case you missed the memo, the OL has undergone a HUGE transformation.
Most of you already know that I (along with Gabe) have never been a huge fan of the Owners Lounge. Before the update, the text was too small for me to read, the navigation was less than great and the message boards lacked any kind of organization.
With the update, I think it’s just as bad, but it has some really cool new features that don’t work.
Maybe it’s because I’m on a Mac running Firefox (even though I had the same problem with Safari), but I got the feeling it was still in beta. And, if this is even possible, it’s harder to read now than it was before!
Sections: In the Press, Marketing, R55 Jan 10th, 2008 8 Comments 
A new year, a new MINI. This time in the shape of the R55, due in the States in February. So also begins new promotions for the Clubman in the US. BSSP has some fantastic things on deck for us with this new MINI.
The Clubman, Mini’s five-door, five seat hatchback, will begin to hit dealerships in Q1, and its full-swing campaign via BSSP, Sausalito, Calif., is expected to break in February.
But the gifts the company is offering are a precursor to its arrival in the U.S., and show a decidedly artsy inclination in terms of co-branding.
continued →
Sections: Marketing Dec 21st, 2007 10 Comments 
Due to technical issues and the overall cost, MINI USA has decided to not roll-out the much heralded Motorby electronic billboards we reported on last January.
MINI USA had sent out a survey recently to hear participants thoughts but the writing had been on the wall for months now that the program would not be continued. All Billboards should be turned off and taken down around January 1st.
In an email that went out to participants today, MINI USA ends on this note:
Unfortunately, due to these outside influences, MINI USA has decided not to roll out the Motorby program to all MINI Owners. So this makes you extra special. In the meantime, hang on to your key fobs, they make good key chains.
Related:
[ MINI USA's Motorboards ] MotoringFile
Sections: Best of the Web, Marketing Nov 7th, 2007 16 Comments 
We reported on this a while back.
MINI 37 - Arcade Racer. Uncompromised Street Cred. Choose any MINI you can buy in a showroom, from the Cooper hatch to the Cooper S convertible. Customise it to your individual taste, from body colour to wheel style, bonnet stripes to panoramic sunroof. Race against your friends, or the computer - power sliding, speed boosting, getting serious air time as you ramp over jumps, negotiate tricky turns, and ultimately win. All set where you live, work and play.
Well, as it turns out, the game is ready! As reported by our friends over at MINI2.co.za.
Sections: Marketing Sep 27th, 2007 4 Comments Just because the MINI Clubman is a bit more practical doesn’t mean the marketing won’t be any less unconventional. Starting Friday September 28th 2007 at 4pm GMT MINI will release a weekly 15-second surrealist interpretation of an everyday event that will only be available on The Other View site for one minute. Be sure to check it out.
[ The Other View ] MINI UK
(via Cool Hunting)
Sections: Marketing, Video Sep 25th, 2007 14 Comments MINI’s latest flavor of viral web marketing, the MINI Preventerizer is now live. Check it out the site and the faux infomercial below and uh… go preventerizer.
[ MINI Preventerizer ] MINI
Sections: Marketing Sep 21st, 2007 17 Comments Taken from the MySpace page devoted to the ad:
The ‘Messeturm’ and MINI Clubman - giant projections over Frankfurt. This unique project was part of the innovative launch campaign for the IAA. The projection was seen 100 meters above the ground, covering 10 stories of the building, with a height of 40 meters. It gave the city a new, unmistakable face for the IAA motor show.
As a result of high pressure caused by competitors, this projection of the interactive MINI Clubman movie has been banned by the city after three days of playing.
continued →
Sections: Best of the Web, Marketing, R55 Sep 12th, 2007 16 Comments 
MINI does have some creative advertising agencies. Winding Road has some interesting shots as MINI gets ready to debut the Clubman in Frankfurt later this month.
Consider this to be ad agency Saachi & Saachi’s take on Cadillac Ranch, the iconic open air art spectacle in Texas. We caught the installation in mid-assembly, where construction workers were busily arranging the three-quarter Clubman carcasses on a plinth for display. As of this morning, the display wasn’t finished, but we expect the metal supports to be removed, and the plywood stand to be covered with gravel or some sort of creative ground cover.
[ Clubman Ranch ] Windingroad.com
Sections: Marketing, Official News Jul 7th, 2007 9 Comments MINI USA has sent a note out to US dealers confirming the new Clubman ads as seen on MotoringFile recently. In fact the officially bulletin actually mentions YouTube and MotoringFile by name as places you’ll be seeing these new ads.
Also in the release is confirmation on news we heard awhile back that MINI USA’s ad agency BSSP will be working on the worldwide launch of the clubman. A MotoringFile tip of the hat to all those at the agency who helped with the win.
Here’s the full bulletin:
In support of the MINI Clubman, which is launching overseas in November of 2007, European markets are running 30 second teaser videos online as part of the “One of These Things” viral marketing campaign. The videos are humorous parodies using the familiar tune, “One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong…” with the message that the new R55 clearly stands out from others in the crowd.
continued →
Sections: Awards, Marketing Jun 13th, 2007 14 Comments From today’s Adage:
Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners won the $100,000 grand prize in the 26th annual Kelly Awards today, taking the top honor for its Mini USA “Covert” campaign.
The Butler Shine campaign for BMW’s Mini was designed to build brand evangelism among existing customers by running ads with coded messages — decipherable only by 150,000 Mini owners who were sent decoder kits in the mail. The agency got another Kelly in the best full-page campaign category for a separate Mini effort, “Shared Space.” The Kelly wins makes for an especially good week around Butler Shine offices; the “Covert” campaign was also honored at last Thursday’s Effie Awards.
Copyright © 2002-2007 Gabriel Bridger