A Look Back at MINI Mavericks – An Early Ad Campaign From MINI USA

DimON · August 1, 2023

After weeks of new MINI news we wanted to dig into the MotoringFile archives for a blast from the past. Behold the MINI Maverick trading cards from the MINI Maverick campaign. Mavericks was part of the early, award winning work done by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky for MINIUSA’s launch of the R50 and R53 MINIs.

This particular part of the campaign featured Ed Roth inspired illustrations designed to not just make MINI cool but give it an edge that most brands would shy away from.

The work done during this time by CP+B for MINI was not just award winning but creative in that there was no TV. This was marketing that was meant to feel as different as the MINI did at the time.

Of course this is just a part of that amazing time period of MINI marketing. In total the work one multiple awards and moved the needle of a relatively unknown brand in the US. And it did so with a fraction of the spend that most automakers shelled out. MINI spent roughly $567,000 for each percentage point of awareness. The other 12 brands in MINI’s competitive set spent an average of $5,973,000 (or more than 10 times as much) to do the same.

In CP+B’s own words the broader campaign was designed to:

Showcase the defining look of the new MINI – its size and contrasting roof.
Create as many opportunities as possible for people to come in contact with the new MINI so they could experience its smile generating magic.
Subtly anthropomorphize the new MINI.
Communicate our unique benefit – life-affirming exhilaration at an attainable price.
Emphasize customization and individual self-expression.
Use non-traditional media and traditional media in very non-traditional ways.

The overall work went onto to win Creativity’s Campaign of the year beating out well known work like Apple’s famous Switch campaign. However it was always the trading cards that so many fans loved.