The Montreal Gazette has an interesting story about the MINI's testosterone laden advertising and why it's important to the brand. Here's an excerpt:
BMW's much-anticipated Mini Cooper
In the U.S, billboards compare the little power-packed ragtop to a little power-packed motorcycle favoured by stunt riders known as a “crotch rocket.”
Another ad features a photo of a purple Mini convertible against a black background and neon-like words “Topless XXS Always Open.”
In Canada, online and television ads will be slightly more tame. One ad features a twenty-something guy in a suit jumping into the open convertible in slow motion and the tag line “Always Open.”
This much is clear: these cars might be small, but they're manly. And it illustrates a bizarre car-marketing paradox: in the business of marketing cars, the C-word is “cute.” If a car is perceived as a “chickmobile”, it's poison to men.
…The way to avoid the stigma is not just in the marketing, but ensuring that the buzz is backed up with real motor muscle, said Mark Pauze, an automotive intelligence consultant with R.L. Polk & Co..
Mini advertising has always focused on the high performance angle, precisely for this reason.
“The vehicle needs to be perceived on its performance abilities. If that means it's not a female car, we want it to be masculine. Then it's achieving the objective for the brand,” said Kevin Marcotte, a spokesperson for BMW Group Canada.
“Women will buy boyish things, but men will not buy girly things,” said Martha Barletta, a Chicago-based consultant and author of Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the Largest Market Segment.
You can read the entire article here.
<p>Yup! It's ALL boy! 😉 See my comments posted two days ago at this link:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.motoringfile.com/2004/09/28/the" rel="ugc">https://www.motoringfile.com/2004/09/28/the</a><em>mini</em>cooper<em>supersprint</em>exhaust</p>
<p>“If a car is perceived as a “chickmobile”, it's poison to men.”</p>
<p>I got a ton of that when I had a Miata. It didn't matter though, next to the Mini that was the best car I've owned.</p>
<p>Well they make a good point. I (a 'chick'- who have always wanted a 911 because I think girls never get cool cars) bought my car based on it's performance. Of course everyone thinks I bought my MCS just because it's “cute”, which I sort of resent. Anyone who knows anything about the MINI knows there is nothing “chick” about it at all- it's a badass little car! But I still get the dumb comments from guys like “well, I GUESS it's ok to be seen in it if it's with a girl- because otherwise people would think I'm gay”. Or on the other hand I get “hey wow! a mini! And it's an S!!! Do you love it? Is it super-fast?! i want one.”</p>
<p>But I must say, convertibles in general do strike me as 'chick cars'. Not sure why. I know all about the mini cabrio's specs etc, but I still fear guys may stay away. I hope I'm wrong. I hope mini can pull it off.</p>
<p>What I find amazing about that article is the following and I quote: </p>
<p>“The Mini has been wildly successful… Almost 8,000 hardtop Minis have been sold in Canada since they first appeared in 2002. Almost 8,000 hardtop Minis have been sold in Canada since they first appeared in 2002.”</p>
<p>That's ALL they've sold in Canada? Sheesh! I would've thunk they would've sold 8,000 alone in Quebec!</p>
<p>Doesn't sound like a raging success in Canada does it? Maybe they ought to rev up the advertising in Canada a bit more!</p>
<p>8000 – Maybe that's all Canada was alloted to sell…</p>
<p>You have to take into consideration that MINIs up in Canada are a pretty scarce commodity. While the US gets 25K-30K units a year, Canada perhaps only gets 8K-10K units per year out of the total worldwide production.</p>
<p>So under those circumstances, MINI Canada has sold every single MINI imported into that country.</p>
<p>I owned a 2000 Volkswagen New Beetle and sold it within two months of buying it. Everyone I talked to perceived it as a (chick car.) So, I got rid of it to save my masculinity.</p>
<p>Used to be if a girl wanted to ride around in a bad@ss sports car she dated a guy (usually full of himself) with one… thank goodness we have progressed to ditching the jerks and buying our own cool cars! : ) …it's hard to have as much respect for your date when he's driving a Civic and you have an MCS – LOL!</p>
<p>Given that Canada ha 1/9 the population of the US, this is like selling 72,000 MINIs in America.</p>
<p>Not Ford F-150 territory, but better than many brands.</p>
<p>-CW</p>
<p>…when I bought my MINI,almost 2 years ago,I didn't ask my Wife or male friends,”…is this car too 'cute' for me to drive?”</p>
<p>I bought the car because it met my high standards of what I wanted my frist new car to be: Cheap,safe,reliable,unique,nimbe,and quick.</p>
<p>…and this is comming from a 6'2,230lb,person who droved 18 wheelers for the past 10 years.lol.</p>
<p>A friend saw a new MINI billboard…”Smallzilla”.
The motorcycle I ride on is “Hogzilla” and my all pepper white MINI is “MINI Zilla”. I must find a poster of this billboard! Can you help me?
Thanks so much.</p>