TTAC is proud to bring you another "What the Hell Were They Thinking?™" moment. First, the facts. To launch MINI's new Clubman (an ugly ass vehicle boasting the world's smallest suicide doors), California-based advertising agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners have unleashed "ZIG. ZAG. ZUG." As you no doubt already guessed, the slogan is part of a host of so clever they require an entire explanatory paragraph to describe them print and "guerrilla" marketing campaigns (e.g. teaser billboards and "The Book of ZUG"). Now, the kvetch. Why would MINI want to riff on the Cadillac Catera– an "entry level" rebadged version of the Opel Omega MV6 that almost single-handedly destroyed the Cadillac brand? Students of automotive history will recall that the abomination was advertised as "The Cadillac that Zigs." That's like selling a new soup based on a brand known for botulism. Also, ZUG? Zug is a town in Switzerland. And while I'm sure the comedy website zug.com will appreciate the business, why would such an internet-friendly car brand miss that opportunity? If you need an alternative place to file this story, how about "Too clever for their own good."
[BMW "respectfully declined" our request for an interview on this campaign.]
What the hell is this? Are they going to have some little animated duck in the commercials as well?
Ok, I clicked the link. Dunno, I never really followed the Cadillac ads, but this seemed relatively innocuous to me.
The only striking thing that I saw, and this could be my American (ahem – Canadian) point of view, but is it actually possible to sit 3 across in the rear seat? I noted the disclaimer that the 3rd seat in the rear was not available in the US, but still… granted, I haven’t sat in one of these, but owning an ’05 Cooper S, there’s no conceivable way that I could see 3 people sitting in the rear (even if it was a bench instead of buckets).
Say what you will about the ads, I’d still kill for one of these. However, based on what I’ve read in the comments on this site, I may be in the minority.
I got rid of my TV. I keep the volume off on the pc. Therefore I am usually not a victim of mass media advertising. Thank God.
You all should try it. Its a little bit of heaven.
Anyway, i like this little car. In spite of advertising that I will probably never see.
Robert, you have expressed my feelings regarding this pathetic promotion of a desparate move to “Expand the Brand”.
Zug also means train…in German no less.
Zig | Zag | TRAIN…… Sounds like a good photoshop challenge
Sorry jersey, I’m not Amish. I do however live in a market where all I see is GM ads. Better or worse? You decide.
The Starsky and Hutch + Knight Rider short films they had last year were much, much better.
How about Dih, dah, duh?
This said, I remember 2 years ago at the beach, I laughed so hard I almost drowned when a plane flew by with the MINI ad “OPEC SCHMOPEC”.
I got rid of my TV. I keep the volume off on the pc. Therefore I am usually not a victim of mass media advertising. Thank God.
As an alternative, hook your TV TV only to your DVD player.If I didn’t have free cable, that’s what I’d do!
the new commercial is fun :)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=RMr5pgtOJaU
AKM :
February 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
How about Dih, dah, duh?
I don’t have the facts to back it up, but I’d be shocked if Hyundai’s Frasier-voiced “Duh” campaign was well-received.
If they’re doing this for the quirky wagonish version, just imagine what they’ll do when they launch the SUV! Or not, if you’d like to keep your sanity.
Brand overboard.
First they don’t secure the “traveler” brand name and choose to go against MINI tradition and using the Clubman name. The Clubman was just a stripped version of the normal Mini and not a station wagon.
If the strength of the brand name is based on your historic products, don’t go pissing on your heritage.
Don’t even get me started on the new MINI SUV.
I love the new Clubman. We’ll be getting one as soon as the initial new model interest dies down. It’s adding just enough space to keep us in the Mini family. I think it won’t be a big seller, but it will pay back the investment and help them keep their market share.
For about 2 weeks these huge, “Zig. Zag.” billboards were plastered all over the NYC Subway stop near my workplace– EVERYWHERE you looked. And for 2 weeks, everyone seemingly ignored them (after all, there were no pictures.) There was also a projection onto the subway tube wall. Very clever, but it was still meaningless (again, just the words “Zig. Zag.”)
On Monday, after 2 weeks of suspense (NOT), they added the “Zug” portion, with a picture of the Mini Clubman.
As a Mini Cooper S owner, I can’t say this “guerrilla marketing” generated much interest at all- even from me! It was more of a brief “what the hell?” moment… I suppose I should have looked up the meaning of Zug in German??
The Catera may have been a mechanical and electrical disaster for most of its run, but as opposed to the Cimalier, people DID buy them. It proved that there indeed WAS a market for an “entry-level” Cadillac and provided the inspiration for quite possibly the most game-changing car in Cad’s history, the CTS.
The difference between this and the Mini, is that the Catera only made it on people’s radar BECAUSE of their shitty advertising campaign, the MINI will sell REGARDLESS of it.
Move Zig?
Dumb advertising, in keeping with their previous advertising campaign. Maybe they should just claim to have stolen Farfegnugen (how do you spell that again?) from VW. Actually, a really creative ad commpany would come up with an ad campaign for both at once: a series with MINI and VW fighting over farfegnugen.
Regarding the Clubman, I think it’s a great idea. The original MINI is too small for me, and if I were more impressed with the driving dynamics, the Clubman might have been workable.
The MINI SUV, on the other hand, is wet wool on the brand.
jerseydevil :
I got rid of my TV. I keep the volume off on the pc. Therefore I am usually not a victim of mass media advertising. Thank God.
jerseydevil, I suppose you must also never purchase anything (food labels are a kind of ad) or travel on our highways (billboards, painted-up cars, bus wraps) or read TTAC, which has at least 3 ad panels on every page and those little pop-up IntelliTXT links. We are all victims of mass media advertising, even poor villagers in the middle of the rainforest wear Nike shirts emblazoned with logos and ad phrases.
This ad for the MINI Clubman was a big hit in the Niedermeyer household…
I was prepared to love the Clubman, that is, until I got to sit in one at the LA Auto show. The back seat seemed as cramped as the 2 door, and was just about as hard to get into. I think it’s probably going to need all the help it can get, marketing-wise.
Do we get Cindy Crawford in thigh high leather boots?
As for the Clubman, I think it’s an interesting design and seems to be well executed. Those who thought the original mini was just too “mini” for them might take a second look especially with those MPG numbers.
As for the ad, come on, Robert, do you think anybody in the target demographic even remembers the Catera, much less its ad campaign? (Yes, I know you remember it, as do I, but we’re car geeks. Most of the buyers for this vehicle are not.)
In fact, the twentysomethings or early thirtysomethings that are in the target market for the Clubman are more likely to associate the “zig” in this ad with the viral shockwave video “All Your Base Are Belong To Us.” (“Zig for great justice”, etc.) not with the Caddy ad from – what, 1990? That’s almost 20 years ago.
Martin Albright : As for the ad, come on, Robert, do you think anybody in the target demographic even remembers the Catera, much less its ad campaign? (Yes, I know you remember it, as do I, but we’re car geeks. Most of the buyers for this vehicle are not.) Anyone who was above 12 when the Caddy Zig ads appeared will remember them (see: above comments about Cindy Crawford and animated duck). At the very least, it’s bad luck.
MINI just proves to me that Ford and GM COULD be selling their European small cars here at a profit if they would actually make some decent business decisions.
The Mini is on our short list (along with the Astra and the Mazda 3).
the new mini is still too big & the “clubbed man” version even bigger. when they make a smaller car, then i’ll look.
(they’ll have to get rid of the ridiculously ugly retro interior, though. i liked the original mini’s centre instrument pod. the new mini’s “update” of that theme is just repulsive …)
Why this all-consuming urge to ‘expand the brand’ by diluting the product image and bloating out the product itself?
And why do they call this new maxi-mini a Clubman at all? The original Clubman was nauseatingly ugly, with a revolting front grill that made it look more or less like all those other depressing postwar Austins, Vauxhalls, etc.
Nothing can hurt the Mini. I was born in the car business, driven most everything and I absolutely love to drive a Mini. I also must disclose that I own a Mini.
This reminds me of a pretty terrible show that used to air on Comedy Central, The Man Show. I swear that their chant was Zig, Zag, Zug, oy, oy, oy… Anyone else?
What’s the problem with it? Maybe they’ll get some customers who aren’t happy with the direction Toyota/Scion took the xB.
kazoomaloo
hmmmmm. I know I can not entirely escape the ads, what would i do if i was not told how to feel about different products.
However, i do not buy prepared food. cans can say whatever they want.
there are lots of billboards here, most advertising television programs that i will never see. echo busses. Sometimes football players advertise things. I don’t watch foorball. I dont care what they like.
as for ttac ads, they pop up, i x them out. sometimes they are really funny tho. No offense. I have enough stuff, i don’t really need any more.
I’m telling u its a little bit of heaven not knowing what the ads are advertising.
JerseyDevil:
GOOD for you!!! My family & I try hard to keep the influence of those ads out of our lives too. It is amazing how rough some of those kids ads are on families who let them become an influence in their spending.
Fast forward on the DVR helps ALOT. Keeping the Disney trap at arm’s length helps alot too. We watch the movies sometimes but we keep the Disney addiction tamed. Movies by mail helps alot too. We watch only a small bit of live TV.
I spent three blissful years as a single man stationed in Italy (1991-1994). Didn’t watch much TV because I was so busy wrenching on my cars and sightseeing, didn’t have a phone, listened either to Italian radio, AFN (no commercials) or recorded music, watched movies instead of TV and the disconnect that all this created was wonderful. My mind was clear and free of the clutter caused by advertising and it’s influences.
I was amazed at how much time I had wasted before this consuming ad-laced entertainment. I had more fun with friends who were also “disconnected”. We had BBQs, we played sports & games, we went places, we worked on our cars, we drank coffee, we really TALKED, and we met girls.
I had a clear mind and time to really think about stuff for a change. Important stuff. I had time to read.
During this period I did not follow any sports teams, did listen to alot of music on CD or Italian radio whose ads I did not understand, did watch some movies, but did not follow any TV series or hear any of the entertainment industry news. Did read the paper of course. Serious problems that a person ought to keep up with abounded then as now.
Bliss…
What I did watch were those Italian girls in their tight skirts and sweaters… A myriad of small, clever cars zipping around going very impressive rates of speed with tiny engines (120 mph with a 1.8L 90HP engine anyone?). And I did eat alot of really good food followed by good beers. Played darts. Walked the cities. Met people.
Drove an Innocenti regularly (think original Mini), lusted after the re-issued Mini from the early 1990s, and I drool all over the current Mini. Made do with a ’65 VW Beetle and later brought it back to TN with me. There are some Fiats I wanted to bring back too.
FINALLY a small car in America with some style. If BMW can bring us a Mini why can’t GM and Ford bring us more of their Euro-versions without making them a mere shadow of their original form?
If BMW can make a profit on their Euro-imports, why not GM and Ford? At least we’ve got Saturn bringing in Opels. Hey – let’s drop the Saturn name, save some dough and leave ’em Opels – okay? Same the money spent rebadging them!
Daily driver happiness would be a driveway with a red Mini with stripes beside a Saturn Astra with a used Eurovan Weekender diesel in the garage on standby for roadtrips.
Bliss…
Spent the past week testing carpooling again. We did it for years only owning one daily driver but am trying it again. Takes a bit more time but we’re saving a tank of gas per week. Yeah, more for you but that’s eating out money for us.
Try the big “disconnect” folks. We stay out of the “buy more stuff” loop and are happier for it. Don’t try to keep up with anyone’s stuff habits. Buy quality, make it last.
By the way, I still don’t listen to regular radio in the car much – mostly podcasts, audiobooks, and recorded music – if anything at all. Some weeks I don’t even turn on the radio choosing to listen to the car and the wind instead. Regular radio ads are maddening to me – especially the car dealer ads. A sale for every calendar holiday.
“Come on down for our Anne Frank Kindgarten Graduation Day car sale! These are the best prices of the year!!!” And then they proceed to read a long paragraph of fine print in 3.5 seconds.
“Come on down for the Salen Witch Trial celebration sale!!! The best prices of the year. You NEED the power and space found only in our Super-extended six door full-sized family heavy-duty 3 ton dually long bed four-wheel drive turbo diesel 16 speed speed automatic pickup with chrome accented trim package and NASCAR inspired handling package and interior entertainment package which features 5 wide screen flip down ceiling mounted LCD screens, 6 separate wireless headsets, 12 speaker surround sound with dual subwoofers and earplugs, GPS/ABS/EMS/CBS/QPS/On-Star and satellite radio which features 516 channels of anything you could want for your 18 minute drive to work, power 60/40 tailgate, 6-way hitch attachment system, dual chrome muffler bearings, high-temp neodymium plated plunkityvalve, gold accent cowcatcher and dual heated antennas! This truck is the newest hybrid to join the GM fleet and qualifies for federal tax rebate incentives. It is a multi-fuel vehicle using ethanol, diesel or coal! Be sure to ask about the free coal hopper extension that can be fitted at no extra charge for a limited time only between the cab and the bed. This enables the truck to operate at any location around the world in case you make a wrong turn at Albuquerque and find yourself in the mountains of Pakistan while towing your skiboat! As an added bonus this year’s model does not require manual coal shovelling!
Be sure to ask for our best terms and to see the invoice price! We’re not making any money on these trucks folks – we’re passing on factory pricing directly to you – the customer!!! This truck features an impressive 9 miles per gallon on the highway (using the $3,400 hybrid option!). That’s an impressive 89% increase over last year’s model so this is the truck to beat in these times of high fuel prices! Who needs a Corolla? We’ve got 192 of these in stock right now – so COME!! ON!! DOWN!! They won’t last long!!!!
(tagstaxesandregistartioncostextramonthlypaymentof$957.32isbasedonlow3%APRsubjectochangewithoutnotice.termof128monthsoruntiltheparentcompanyorcustomergoesbrokewhichevercomesfirstatwhichtimetotalpayementof$53000willbedueimmediatelyorthecompanywillrepossesthetruckandcrushitattheEV1provinggroundsinCA.Youmayalsochooseadifferentpayemnttermwhichallowsthedebttobetransferredtoyourchildrenupontheir18thbirthdayorsimplypaythebalanceoftheprincipalfromyoursocialsecurityaccountdirectly.)
No thanks, I’ll take something both sensible and fun like a Mini, a Mazda, a Opel Astra or Zafira, a CR-V or a VW Golf.