Mar 2, 2008

Pinball Wizardry



Since we've been discussing this spot in the thread about the Mini's leave-behind kit below, I thought it deserved a post of its own.

From Butler, Shine & Stern, and shot by red-hot Happy, it's a great product demo that continues the Mini tradition of standing out from other car commercials. That is, it looks nothing like other car commercials. (In a good way.)

I've seen this one on the air and even though a Mini is not in my immediate future, I was immediately struck by the underlying tonality of the spot: there's a real sense of fun and joie de vivre here that's (a) very much in the Mini's heritage and (b) often absent or forced in so many other car spots.

3 comments:

Lunar BBDO said...

It does look a tiny bit like other car commercials. Or at least one other car commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JoQGfnVhyM

But as you can see, Happy's is better.

Anonymous said...

Saw this too and dug it. Pinball theme is the same in both that and the Fiesta, but with different executions though. Feels more right for Mini imo because of the name and the theme of small they’ve built with that brand

Anonymous said...

i LOVE this commercial, and i hate all car ads as a rule. Why? because all car are the same ... there really is no product differentiation. They all have 4 wheels, run on gas, and have seats. Yet car manufactures keep talking about the product features .. like anyone cars. They should be selling you the personality & brand of the car ... which Mini does SOOO well.
I love the first mini ad that I ever saw ... had the whole reference to the "small guy" beating the big guys and was full of iconic images like david & goliath. BRILLIANT.