MINI USA Crashes the NYC Auto Show—With Billboards, British Wit, and a Plane

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In a move that feels more 2002 than 2025 (and we mean that as a compliment), MINI is rolling out a bold, irreverent campaign that cuts through the polished platitudes of the modern auto industry. Designed take on convention—and maybe a few OEM execs in the process—MINI’s latest effort is part satire, part street fight, and all MINI.

A Return to Form

The campaign, created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners along with MINI USA’s interagency team, marks a decisive pivot back to the brand’s original U.S. persona: the plucky, fun-loving iconoclast that flipped the bird at bloated sedans and joyless marketing. MINI’s new ads don’t just wink at this heritage—they shout it through a megaphone strapped to a low-flying plane.

Yes, a plane.

Circling the Javits Center during the New York Auto Show, a MINI-branded aircraft joins a battalion of sharply-worded billboards urging “car people” to skip the “static showroom floor” and go test drive a 3x Monte Carlo Rally Champion.

Taglines, Twisted

Billboards in strategic locations co-opt the actual taglines of other brands (Mercedes, Jeep, Porsche) and flip them with MINI’s signature snark. If you’re an employee of one of those brands, don’t be surprised to see a MINI billboard outside HQ telling you to “ditch work and book a test drive.” Ouch.

For those actually inside the Javits Center, there’s no escape either. MINI has sneakily inserted its message onto Volta EV charging stations—because if you’re going to trap car folks with slow charging, you might as well entertain them.

The MINI Manifesto

In a pair of full-page ads in The New York Times—a flex in itself—MINI draws a hard line between cars and itself. One ad speaks directly to car enthusiasts, telling them to skip the showroom snooze fest and experience the thrill firsthand. The second serves as the “MINI Manifesto,” a delightfully irreverent reminder that MINI is not a car in the traditional sense—it’s a “street-legal go-kart” with charm, chutzpah, and a proper British attitude problem.

According to Kate Alini, MINI USA’s Department Head of Marketing, Product, and Strategy, the campaign is a deliberate return to the brand’s roots. “We’ve been the feisty underdog, taking on bigger brands with Brit-grit, humor, and most of all fun,” she says. “With this campaign, we’re disrupting in ways that only MINI can.”

MINI in the Wild

Beyond the Times and the Javits Center, MINI has taken to the streets with “wild postings” targeting each borough of NYC. The message is clear: ditch the boring, and drive something fun. It’s not a car. It’s a rebellion on wheels.

And that tone is no accident. “MINI doesn’t show up the way traditional car brands do,” adds Mason Douglass, Senior Copywriter at GS&P. “Instead, we developed a creative approach that points out in a ‘MINI way’ that driving is more fun than looking at a bunch of static display cars.”

Our Take

In a world of sterile ad copy and grayscale crossovers, MINI’s campaign is a welcome blast of personality. It’s disruptive, self-aware, and—most importantly—fun. It’s also a reminder of what MINI has always done best: punch above its weight, rattle cages, and make driving feel like play again.

So, to the car people at the Auto Show: MINI sees you. And it’s daring you to stop looking—and start driving.

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