Mini Car, Giant Voice: A Look at the Mini Cooper's Advertising

I think that there is a contest among all car manufacturers and advertising agencies to see how many boring, uninspiring, and cliche ads that they can produce. So far, I'd say that they are well on their way to a new record. Man, I am tired of seeing the same old car ads that show the car driving somewhere, then at the end just showing the most flattering view of the car and stapling a tag line on the screen or page. Half of the time I can't even tell you what car it is until the brand name is shown, and if I were either the car company or the agency producing the ad, I would think that that sort of reaction to what you are putting out would raise some sort of a red flag. Don't you? Now, of course some ads are more interesting and unique than others but I just feel that the whole car-ad world is becomming irreversibly monotonous...until the MINI came along!

I LOVE the Mini ads. They are so proficient at grabbing people's attention and creating an entire unique experience simply from an immovable, yet suggestive visual. Combined with a few guerrilla marketing tactics, Mini has implemented the most interesting, engaging, and out-of-the-box advertisements that I have seen. And just when I was giving up on car commercials and ads, Mini brought me back.

They already have an untraditional style and appearance from what us American car consumers are used to seeing and experiencing..."experience" being the key word here. That is how Mini has positioned itself in the market. They are selling an experience, rather than useless features or a sleek body, and their advertisements depict that flawlessly. Let me show you a few examples of what and how Mini is doing this:

  

How cool are these? Can you think of another car brand that you have seen a previous ad for that could fill this space that Mini has taken over? I sure can't. From the "moving" billboard to the caged Mini to the personalized driving messages, Mini is invading the minds of its consumers. While although it is still a car and it needs to have certain functional and operational benefits or else a consumer will not buy it, Mini is showing off these functions in a totally different way. They are creating an entire experience with each ad that pretty much any consumer can relate to and it's so refreshing to see. Keep it up Mini! I think we all can learn a lesson from these Mini ads. Don't settle for what everyone else is doing because that is how you get looked over and forgotten. Dare to be different, dare to be wild, dare to be YOU! No matter how "mini" you may seem, you can always have a giant voice.


Check out some of the other past Mini ads:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/mini_cooper_no_small_advertising_6530