MINI Canada has launched their spring advertising campaign that invites consumers to get rid of their current car (by various means) in order to get a MINI. The center of the campaign is the MINI INCUBATOR (available at MINI.CA) that offers the possibility to transform your car into a MINI. The user selects the type of vehicle they currently own and than selects to have it MINI incubated which transforms it into a MINI. The advertising campaign also features ads with catchy phrases like "Sucks less than your minivan." (referring to the fuel-economy).
MINI Press Release:
Get rid of your old car and get into MINI! MINI Canada launched its spring marketing campaign
with an all-new, all Canadian initiative. The campaign invites consumers to get rid of their current car (by various means) in order to get a MINI.
Hitting the streets in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, this latest campaign leverages a wide variety of mediums to connect with the public. Out-of-home media such as billboards, transit shelters, underground parking lots and street level media is complemented with a strong online presence. Prospects who are excited by the advertising and venture online to learn more and engage
with the brand are treated with a unique, interactive two-way communication module on the homepage of MINI.CA.
The center of the campaign features the MINI INCUBATOR, a new feature on MINI.CA that ‘transforms’ a users car into a MINI through a series of interactive stages. The user selects the type of vehicle they currently own and then register to have it MINI INCUBATED, in other words, transformed into an exciting new MINI. The registered user receives regular status updates of the transformation process via email, which are designed to communicate the key features of
the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S, over a two-week period.
The spring MINI Campaign includes eye-catching superboards, that are located in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The Toronto superboard faces east, just off of the Gardiner Expressway, and showcases a MINI navigating through an impossibly tight maze of real 3-D pylons. The ad is bold and the pylons emphasize the playful, go-kart like handling of the car. The Montreal superboard pictures a sumo wrestler jumping on a balance board with a MINI on the other end - demonstrating
the feeling of a driving a twin-scroll turbocharged engine. The Vancouver superboard features the caption, “Burnt rubber is the new black,” and pictures a MINI followed by a long string of tire marks covering a white background.
Prominently featured in this campaign is transit shelter advertising. The ads have catchy phrases like “Cardultry isn’t a sin. (It’s not even a word.)” One particularly humorous ad that plays with the idea of fuel-economy says, “Sucks less than your minivan.”
In addition, MINI wrapped garbage receptacles, with ads that say “lose your car keys here”, encourage walkers-by to “throw” their keys in the garbage, and get into MINI. The cheeky ad points
to the recycling and trash sections of the can as a place to put SUV keys, sedan keys and minivan keys.
The MINI Resto Ads (Bar/Restaurant Restroom Ads) echo the message of the campaign for consumers to get out of their current car and into a MINI. They feature a pseudo city map that points out high theft areas (indicated by a red LED blinking light) where you “shouldn’t leave your car”. The ad plays with the theme that the viewer wants to lose their car in order to get a MINI.
An additional online element of the MINI campaign is banner ads placed on websites such as Yahoo, Sympatico MSN and NOW Toronto. The ads are designed to tease the MINI INCUBATOR modules on MINI.CA by introducing situations where you may need a new vehicle. Part of the online marketing strategy includes website domination where the MINI ad will appear on a web page for every impression that day.
All creative was developed by TAXI 2.
For more information on the MINI and MINI INCUBATOR please visit, www.MINI.ca.
BMW Group Canada, based in Whitby, Ontario, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG and is responsible for the distribution of BMW luxury performance automobiles, Sports Activity Vehicles, Motorcycles, and MINI. BMW Group Financial Services Canada is a division of BMW Group Canada and offers retail financing and leasing programs on new and pre-owned BMW and MINI automobiles, as well as retail financing for new and pre-owned BMW Motorcycles. A total network of 40 BMW automobile retail centres, 19 BMW motorcycle retailers, and 25 MINI retailers represents the BMW Group across the country.
