MINI’s Frankfurt Teaser: Two Untamed Shine (pt. 3)
Here’s the third ad in the series meant to promote the coming of the speedster and coupe concepts. The world premier at Frankfurt is next Tuesday so be sure to check MF early and often over the coming days.
<p>Oh snap! Rockin’ the Kubrick and the double bird. I can’t tell if these are just good ol’ cars-as-sex-object or some sort of sly play on the whole “booth babe” auto show cliché. Either way, I can’t wait to see the cars in person.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I guess we won’t being seeing this on the telly anytime soon.</p>
<p>Reminds me how much that movie scared the crap out of me.</p>
<p>Dang, this MINI marketing strategy is certainly working on my feeble mind!</p>
<p>ehh, its pretty lame.</p>
<p>Have to say not my favorite work by Mini on these, still does make me wonder if the Speedster and Coopster are showing this just imagine the same advertising campaign for the new Mcclaren lol.</p>
<p>it’s OK, I guess, a bit too predictable, MINI could produce something a bit smarter and unexpected</p>
<p>I love the spots. MINI is trying to sell to a new crowd and not the economical MINI driver. I would be you could get 2 base Coopers for the price of one Speedster.</p>
<p>See, <i>WE</i> understand that these represent two cars coming out, but taken out of this context, these ads are confusing as hell!</p>
<p>Usually, the car has already debuted, you start by showing the bad ass girls doing whatever, then segue into a shot of both cars, pop up a tagline, and you’ve got a car commercial. Without the cars as reference, they’re pretty odd.</p>
<p>I asked my wife what she thought, since she didn’t know about the two new cars coming out, and she’s a pretty savvy cookie. Frankly, she just didn’t get it. Said they looked like they could be ads for MINI-labeled Axe body spray.</p>
<p>I’m not as impressed as I hoped to be… the two cars better impress me more than the ads when we see them in Frankfurt!</p>
<p>I think it’s odd that both MINI and Audi are using “untamed” as their theme for the show… (here is a link to Audi’s campaign: <a href="http://www.automoblog.net/2009/09/03/electric-audi-r8-electricity-untamed/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.automoblog.net/2009/09/03/electric-audi-r8-electricity-untamed/</a>)</p>
<p>I’ve thought the whole series of ads has been a mess. Hopefully it’s not a sign of things to come.</p>
<p>Yeah, these ads are almost, well… are somewhat offensive. What the heck is MINI thinking. They should fire their ad/marketing gurus! Because they suck! My truck loving buddy and I could come up with something far more effective than that! An ad that makes you not have to look around to make sure no one else is watching as to make sure they don’t think you are watching dirty things on your computer. FAIL, MINI AD GUYS!</p>
<p>We’re the post-post-post-modern generation, about as jaded as one can get. Given that huge hurdle I’d say the ads are pretty well done. Remember cars are marketed conservatively compared to most consumer products and certainly most Big ticket durables. I would bet that if this was seen on primetime TV or before movie trailers it would be more impressive than seeing it online.</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-269006" rel="nofollow">Les Campbell</a>:</p>
<p>The porn crowd?</p>
<p>i’m having a hard time imagining an “untamed” driver in a coupe or speedster. 90% of the MINI drivers in my area are 60+ years old puttering around town in their cute car. it’s rare that i see a driver under 30 years of age or get a wave from another MINI driver for that matter.</p>
<p>i think the arrival of the speedster will just showcase more gray hair in the open air ’round these parts.</p>
<p>That’t why the Coopster interests me more Brad, I haven’t gone gray yet. ;)</p>
<p>The Mini market in the US atleast is middle age, think Europe has a younger generation but I think this is mostly because of the Mini 1. I know very few 20 year old people in a place to purchase a 30k vehicle so I guess that makes sense why that is generally the case here.</p>
<p>And this just in from the WTF Department…</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-269013" rel="nofollow">brad.</a>:</p>
<p>Hey, we all are heading down the same way. One day, you’ll have grey hair too and perhaps eat your words…</p>
<p>There may be more younger, quicker MINI owners than you think…I know a couple good shoes in their early 20s. Also, here in Colorado, you get waves and headlight flashes from fellow MINI drivers more often than not.</p>
<p>Beyond that, I believe as a country we collectively move our car-buying habits away from heavy, inefficient, big, lumbering, comfy cruisers to lighter, smaller, quicker, better handling, and more efficient vehicles like the MINI, we will see more and more young folks and families in MINIs.</p>
<p>As for the ads, personally I like them a lot because they are edgy and creative; not the typical staid , predictible promo. Seems that the ads are about as polarizing as the Broadspeed itself.</p>
<p>I MUST be getting old…who are these ads targeting 17 year olds?! They don’t have the money to buy these cars. 42 isn’t old, is it?! I do have gray hair though but I have the heart and the mind of a 20 year old :)</p>
<p>A lot of loud, brash, in-your-face ads…for a MINI? When it can smoke a Corvette (even an older one), then these ads would fit the car. With these ads, the new speedster had better.Can you see an old geezer watching this video of a young girl giving him the finger?! I think he would mosey right past the MINI offerings.</p>
<p>I think they’ve gone a little too far. The early commercials were a bit too complacent. They still need to find their sweet marketing spot. I thought the JCW commercials (where the dude was getting into his red JCW, rippin through the empty streets) were nicely done though.</p>
<p>These ads are not for the US market! Sure they may seem super shocking to us here in the US but are almost tame for some parts of the world. If we were all German these spots would not be so shocking. I think that they will represent the new MINI attitude and not just the old gas sipping happy motoring days.</p>
<p>b-
You hit the nail right no the head with that!</p>
<p>This is for a Euro show and NOT an American show…none of those ads would get past the Conservative nutjobs running TV networks this side of the pond…</p>
<p>Bravo to the Germans for sticking it to conventional Car comercials.</p>
<p>I for one have to say the commercials are not shocking personally. I think more than a few Americans are not as uptight as its portrayed any more that all Europeans are as liberal on their views. Broad proclamations are usually just broad bushes trying to paint people as clones.</p>
<p>here you go:
<a href="http://jalopnik.com/5357487/more-mazda-mx+5-superlight-concept-2193-lbs-of-stripped+out-awesome" rel="nofollow ugc">http://jalopnik.com/5357487/more-mazda-mx+5-superlight-concept-2193-lbs-of-stripped+out-awesome</a></p>
<p>Other than totally bland styling. They are good performers but at the end of the day your driving a Mazda, which personally doesn’t set my world on fire.</p>
<p>Like the weight savings for sure but betting if it goes to production it will go for sale much greater markup than what we are going to see with the Speedster. Still should be fun because there is no doubt that there will be lots of comparison pictures between it and the Speedster.</p>
<p>Jesus. Just pathetic.</p>
<p>ok enuff!</p>
<p>n/m</p>
<p>And with each teaser……….it only gets worse. Time to abandon all things “MINI” until the 15th.</p>
p>@b-</p
<p>You are absolutely right!</p>
<p>This is a typical example of the perception of the MINI brand by the MINI crowd in Europe compared to the good ol’ US of A. Regardless of how you put it, the car is geared towards a young crowd.</p>
<p>The MINI crowd in Europe is a LOT younger compared to here (as JohnPD pointed out, One plays a role in that). You have to look into these teasers with their intended target in mind (i.e., the young(er) Europeans who will see these cars in the Frankfurt auto show).</p>
<p>Nicely done! I hope there are few more segments of the same concept.</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-269025" rel="nofollow">b-</a>: Glad someone finally brought this up. Naturally these ads aren’t meant for the US market.</p>
<p>Yes the Euro vs US MINI owning demo is very different. Just go back and look at our photos from MINI United and compare them to any US event. Secondly advertising in Europe takes many more chances and can be much more metaphorical. Cars ads don’t always show cars driving fast down a moutain road.</p>
p>@C4</p
<p>A MINI is a fun practical car for people who love cars. The Coupe and Speedster wont be practical. In such, MINI is trageting a new crowd. I might be the only one on this site who does not own a MINI, so I can see these ads from outside the box and I think they work well.</p>
<p>I’m 60+ and I like these ads. They make me even more excited about seeing the new models. The older MINI drivers I know are very young at heart and appreciate the car’s performance and fun factor just like younger MINI owners. Keep up the good work MINI! You too Gabe. I love this site.</p>
<p>Mazda MX-5 Superlight – headrest fairings.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m 58, white hair, and just got my new JCW MINI. My very first car was a BMW 2002tii and i loved it, so I guess I feel 19 again. I’m not offended by the girl flipping me the finger in this ad. I just hope the Coopster lives up to the expectations.</p>
<p>Honestly, I have never had to be offered a pair of mean looking anorexic chicks through an ad in order to be persuaded to buy a MINI. Even if I was an European (and my ancestry clearly comes down that line) I still find the ads stupid and tasteless.</p>
<p>Show me the damn car already and you can keep your mean woman and mountain roads to yourself.</p>
<p>Agreed.</p>
<p>I can’t wait for the 15th if only so we don’t have to see a 4th update of these angry twins.</p>
<p>The generalizations on the age demographic of U.S. MINI owners is quite amusing. The states are quite a bit more populous than “yoursmalltownUSA”. Here in L.A. you have a broad distribution of MINI owners from one end of the age spectrum to the other. It’s all dependent upon your local and the culture that exists within that region.</p>
<blockquote>Secondly advertising in Europe takes many more chances and can be much more metaphorical. </blockquote>
<p>It appears that advertising in Europe can also be really, really cr@ppy.</p>
<p>Hey LAVA…. the hand codes seen are my sentiments to you!</p>
<p>The message I get is: “Untamed = Ugly, Mean & Nasty”.</p>
<p>Looks like their target group is the S & M crowd.</p>
<p>@Brad/Madoc: Ditto.
Now how about some free advertisement. Check out Car and Driver, Oct. issue. One could scowl at the context of the two stories perhaps, but really, coming from outside this circle of friends and admirers imo it aint a bad thing.</p>
<p>D-Type – <a href="http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200511/1954-jaguar-d-type-1_460x0w.jpg" rel="nofollow">headrest fairing</a></p>
<p>These are really sad as concepts and I’ve seen my share from working in the business. If I had been sitting in the conference room when these were proposed, I would have immediately fired the ad agency. This is nothing but unoriginal thinking on the part of the creators using the same tired stereotypical idea of what appeals to a younger crowd. Hard to see how this enhances the brand.</p>
<p>@<a href="#comment-269055" rel="nofollow">metalman</a>: It’s a state of mind, no question about it!</p>