MINI has released its 30-second Superbowl Spot ahead of the big game this Sunday.
The automaker recruited Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP) to develop the ad in order to tell 100 million people that labels don’t define its vehicles. Using hand-picked sports, music, and entertainment celebrities who embody stereotype-bashing careers, MINI mocks all the labels its cars have generated over the years while (in a nicer way) telling its accusers to stuff it.
Dubbed “Defy Labels,” the commercial and ensuing marketing campaign, directed by Christian Weber at Park Pictures, “inspires people to shed the labels society has placed upon them and instead define themselves.”
MINI says it chose stars who had a relationship with the brand and who could align with the idea of overcoming labels. Featured personalities include Serena Williams, Abby Wambach, T-Pain, Randy Johnson, Tony Hawk, and Harvey Keitel. In addition to brief appearances in the commercial, each celebrity filmed interviews about the topic of rising above labels. These can be viewed on MINI’s campaign site.
“This powerful concept leverages the brand’s new sophisticated positioning, with a little bit of the MINI attitude that’s always been there,” said John Butler, chief creative officer, BSSP. “It goes beyond a typical celebrity endorsement. This creative is all about not letting others define you, or for that matter, what you choose to drive. It’s about never giving others that power over you.”
In addition to celebrities, the 30-second spot features members of the MINI John Cooper Works racing team, who the automaker says “break convention.”
“This campaign acknowledges those labels in a very authentic way while simultaneously showing people MINI is more than that, said Tom Noble, department head, MINI Brand Communications. “With the launch of the new Clubman, our brand is growing up, our products are more sophisticated, and it’s time to reset the conversation.”
As Mr. Noble alludes, this campaign also brings attention to the automaker’s new Clubman, which just recently arrived in dealer showrooms.
Though football isn’t everyone’s passion, when brands throw millions of dollars down for a few seconds of your attention, it’s usually worth watching. MINI hopes you’ll at least tune in during the third quarter to judge whether it spent a good chunk of marketing budget wisely.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.