Mini woos drivers with speedy proposition

The tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by Proximity Malaysia, centres on the idea that the Mini is so powerful that the slightest tap on the accelerator will inevitably result in a speeding ticket.

A made-for-YouTube ad shows a man happily cruising down the motorway before he is stopped by a policeman. A voiceoversays: ‘A gentle tap on the accelerator and your mini goes into hyperspeed - only for your fun to come to an abrupt end. That’s right, you’ve got a speeding ticket. It’s not your fault. The Mini is just too powerful.’

To get around this problem, the marque has introduced the ‘Mini speeding ticket preventeriser’ initiative - the YouTube ad directs Mini drivers to the website, minipreventerizer. com.my, where users can download excuses for why they were driving so fast.

A nurse’s cap, a fireman’s helmet and a royal crown - all printable from the website - should be worn by unwittingly speedy Mini drivers when pulled over by the police, advises the site.

“The Mini brand personality is about fun and quirkiness with a slight edge,” says Nina Mohamed, creative director at Proximity Malaysia. “It’s all very well using hot chicks and dudes to sell cars, but it takes a certain personality to be a Mini driver.

“In Malaysia, there’s an onus on us to project that personality - and through non-traditional means to reach an elusive younger audience. Mini is a very niche brand, and Malaysians take some persuading to part with RM200,000 (US$59,000) for a small car.”

But is the agency acting irresponsibly by associating Mini with speeding? “We’re not saying drive the car at 5,000 kilometres per hour,” noted Ronald Ng, ECD of Proximity Malaysia. “We’re not making serious claims. We’re making ‘Mini claims’.”

The second-generation Mini launched in Malaysia in the first quarter of this year.