So, you know this freezing weather we’re currently having? Well, in Germany, the car company Mini is actually sponsoring it.
It might have seemed like a genius marketing move at the time, but now BMW’s marketing agency in Munich, Sassenbach, are coming to terms with the full force of mother nature.
The marketing agency was looking for a “wind and weather proof idea” when they came up with the plan to name the current freezing weather system, which has engulfed Europe, after their Mini Cooper for only €299. However, the cold front has claimed the lives of up to 70 people reports the Irish Independent, and has left BMW having to answer questions about the move.
Germany is the only country outside the US that names its weather systems and the Institute for Meteorology, at the Free University (FU) in Berlin, runs an “Adopt-a-Vortex” scheme, where anyone can name high or low pressure systems.
It’s a simple task. You log onto the institute’s website and choose whether you want to sponsor a high front (€299) or a low front (€199). High fronts are more expensive as they stay on the weather map for longer.
However, BMW said in a statement that it regretted people had died as a result of Cooper. “Of course we are sorry. It was not intentional, you cannot tell in advance what a weather system will do,” a company spokeswoman told The Irish Independent
Advertising agency Sassenbach will be hoping that the low pressure front ‘Minnie’ (which will happen later in the year) will be a bit more forgiving. So, if we get 50C weather when Minnie is in town, we’ll know where to point the finger.
