Staying Open to go beyond the norm

The launch campaign of the new MINI Convertible goes beyond a mere classical promotional film, and explores various horizons of cinematic aspirations and brand character

With changing dynamics of media channels and consumer behaviour, it is important to understand that uniqueness is a catalyst for effective advertising and that, it should be targeted where the potential audience is already sitting. The third phase of MINI Convertible’s launch campaign came with a bang. With the release of a short film titled ‘This Day Forward’, MINI has taken cinematic excellence in the world of advertising to a whole new level, setting up a benchmark.

Sitting on the website mini.com/stay-open and gaining hits on YouTube, the film is directed by Joachim Back, who holds an Oscar on his name for his short film ‘The New Tenants’. ‘This Day Forward’ is centred on a conflict that we seldom encounter– reasoning and passion; it takes a lot of time and failures before we resolve a conflict. This is precisely what develops in the three episodes of the campaign.

The protagonist Jake encounters a situation where he has to decide between selling his record label in a deal that will fetch him millions of dollars, and pursuing his dream in the music industry. The three episodes revolve around Jake reliving the Big Day of signing the contract and ends as the protagonist resolves to follow his heart. What makes the short film interesting is its intriguing narrative style that unfolds different surfaces and specifics of the story, retaining ample suspense and picturising the consequences of the protagonist’s dilemma.

MINI did a brilliant job in personalising the optimistic and multi-ethnic character of its target audience to MINI Convertible’s image of free-thinking personality with a passion for life. Shot in and around the sizzling Miami, Florida Keys, The Gulf Coast amidst palm beaches and white beaches, the short film is a neat piece of cinematographic excellence garnished with crisp flavours of keen detailing and smart screenplay.

The very fact that MINI’s campaign employs a short film, against the standard classic advertising media, highlights the brand’s commitment to giving something new, unique and intriguing to its consumers, time and again. Also, MINI is sending a strong message to others in the field –Go and target your audience where they are hanging out instead of waiting for them to come to your irrelevant and traditional media. A similar message was conveyed by Land Rover through its ‘Test Drive This Billboard’ campaign we discussed in the previous column.

With the key pay off ‘Stay Open’, which is also the reason behind the microsite’s title stay-open, MINI is successfully portraying the diversities of its target group and knitting them together through a car that has a legacy behind it.Despite having the major focus on the digital media, the campaign will be adapted to the traditional media as well; all in the constant endeavour to accompany potential consumers throughout all channels and have a strong brand recall.