Anyone in PR has probably experienced his or her fair share of brainstorms that started out with something like, “So what kind of media stunt will get everyone talking?” Ideas fly around – some too expensive, some tactically impossible to pull off, some inconsequential. But every once in a while, all of the pieces come together and the perfect media stunt is born.
And then there’s MINI. Here’s the super-fast recap of the latest MINI media stunt:
1. MINI challenges Porsche to a race – the MINI Cooper S vs. the 911 Carrera S.
2. Porsche declines.
3. MINI doesn’t let it go.
4. Porsche maintains radio silence.
The longer version of this story involves a plane that took off from Peachtree-DeKalb Airport and circled Porsche’s North American headquarters, towing a banner that read:
DEAR PORSCHE,
BRING IT!
LOVE, MINI
There have been videos from MINI USA president, Jim McDowell, a letter from Porsche USA president and CEO, Detlev Von Platen, and media coverage.
And then there was the latest video – put together by the folks at Funny or Die for MINI. I’ve only seen the original Rocky, so if you’re like me, you need a quick intro. The video is a spoof of the training scene from Rocky IV in which the Russian boxer (Porsche) is training in an elite Soviet facility while Rocky (MINI) trains in a barn. Even having never seen the movie, the video is pretty funny.
So now, with a full-page ad in the New York Times, Facebook campaign and a healthy video component, I’d say MINI successfully accomplished exactly what they set out to do – they got people talking, blogging, posting and emailing.
So congratulations are in order for MINI. You won (even if the race never happens).
Which I hope it will…
As senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman specializes in building and maintaining relationships with the media and has an excellent track record of landing significant placements in print and broadcast media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Money Magazine.
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.