MINI are masters of marketing, they’ve come up with some of the best and riskiest ad campaigns in the 10+ years since BMW relaunched the brand. However, their latest stunt, to name a cold weather front ‘Cooper’, has gone horribly wrong following more than 100 deaths as a result of the storm.
The majority of the deaths have taken place in Ukraine and Poland where temperatures have been as low as -33°C. It’s been reported almost 1000 people in Ukraine have been hospitalised with hypothermia and frostbite.
BMW, through its ad agency Sassenbach, registered to sponsor a cold weather front through the German Institute of Meteorology for the modest fee of €299. Although, the process does not allow advertisers to nominate when or which storm they can name.
A statement has been issued by BMW saying it deeply regrets the weather front has claimed so many lives. They have also apologised for the stunt.
As part of the campaign BMW has also registered to name a low pressure front ‘Minnie’ and it’s unsure if they will continue with those plans.
Germany’s Adopt a Vortex program has been running for 10 years and all revenues help fund weather monitoring at Berlin’s Free University.
[Source: BBC]