New Ad Campaign To Accompany Launch Of Clubman

Anthony Fontanelle
February 22, 2008

BMW has reenergized the MINI brand by designing vehicles which combines the old-world beauty of the MINI design and modern styling cues. In the United States, the MINI hardtop was launched in 2002 and the convertible followed in 2004. This year, it is time for the launching of the MINI Clubman dubbed as the "Other MINI".

The MINI Clubman is longer than the two MINI Coppers which makes it a "different" MINI. The European automaker will be marketing the Clubman with the help of the two MINI models.

The concept formulated by Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners creative agency is named "Zig Zag Zug". The idea is to use Zig to refer to the launch of the first new MINI in 2002. The MINI Cooper convertible on the other hand will be tagged with the Zag. The new MII Clubman will thus be tagged with the Zug.

Teasers bearing the words Zig and Zag were displayed by the automaker on prominent public places. Major cities were targeted for this campaign including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. These teasers were put in place on the first of February.

Coinciding with the release of the MINI Clubman in the United States, these teasers were supplemented with images of the MINI Coopers and the MINI Clubman along with the tag Zug.

Apart from that, the marketing campaign also included aerial banners on the beaches of Miami. This ad campaign is targeting buyers who are looking for an unusual car as this is what the Clubman is. A MINI Spokesman went as far as saying that they know it might turn off some buyers especially British ones in the United Kingdom.

This is because the "Clubdoor" on the side of the vehicle opens only on the right side. This will not be an issue with Americans as drivers drive on the right side of the road. In fact, the automaker is expecting the Clubman to be a success. "We don’t commit to making a car that doesn’t bring us a profit," a spokesman for MINI was quoted saying by Autocar.co.uk.

The Clubman will also invade cable TV as the creative agency created two ads which are the "Pinball" and the "Clubmanitis". The Pinball ad features men dressed in black pushing a gigantic pinball around a pinball machine. The rear splitting door of the Clubman serves as the flipper.

In the Clubmanitis, a doctor is seen examining a young boy who apparently has "Clubmanitis". That is, having a Lighting Blue Clubman racing around a track inside his head.

The Clubman is available now in the United States and its uniqueness and the automakers reputation for building vehicles with components as reliable as VW Passat parts is expected to make the Clubman attractive to consumers.