Faith of a Few: Is This the Best MINI Cooper Commercial Ever Made?

[DimON]

There are plenty of memorable MINI Cooper commercials. But in 2017, the brand produced one that stood apart. A short film set in 1964 Monte Carlo that redefined how MINI talked about its past. And yet today, it is largely forgotten.

Commissioned to elevate the John Cooper Works sub brand, Faith of a Few unfolded less like an ad and more like a short film. Set in 1964 Monte Carlo, it captured John Cooper’s unlikely mission to turn a modest city car into a rally giant killer.

The history is well known to MotoringFile readers. The classic Mini stunned the motorsport establishment by winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. And then there was 1966, the infamous disqualification that many still argue was more politics than parity.

Rather than leaning into nostalgia, MINI and agency Jung von Matt crafted something sharper. The film opens with skepticism and resistance. Cooper’s idea is dismissed. The MINI is underestimated. Yet the narrative builds tension around belief and defiance. The car is not presented as cute or retro. It is presented as disruptive.

Produced by Anorak Film and backed by Mini Sport, which readied a replica of 33 EJB for the shoot, the film commits fully to authenticity. Every frame, from the frozen mountain passes to the service park scenes, feels lived in. It does not watch like an ad. It watches like a rally film.

The campaign arrived during a period when MINI was working to give the John Cooper Works name clearer definition. JCW needed to be understood as more than a trim package. It needed to reconnect modern buyers to the brand’s motorsport DNA. This film brought that rich history to the public in a way that we had never seen before.

The industry responded. In 2018, the film earned multiple Gold and Silver Lions at Cannes. For a MINI Cooper commercial rooted in 1960s rally history, that is no small achievement.

And yet, despite the awards and the craftsmanship, the film quietly faded from broader conversation. And in North America, was almost never aired.

That is unfortunate. In under two minutes, it pulled off a trick most modern automotive marketing struggles with. It turned history into conviction. MINI’s reputation was not built on design quirk or metropolitan cool. It was earned on cold Alpine stages where brains routinely outmaneuvered horsepower.

As MINI evolves through electrification and digital transformation, the question remains familiar. What does performance mean for MINI Cooper today? Is it numbers, or is it attitude?

This forgotten commercial offered a clear answer. Performance is conviction. And conviction, when paired with a small car and the right mountain road, can change history.

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