Mini Cooper news - Street marketing -2007

Forget cheesy TV ads: the classic days of Papa, Nicole and that other one are well and truly over.

No, the new marketing fad in the automotive world is what Top Gear has dubbed the 'fictional but quite funky lateral viral campaign'. OK, so maybe the name needs a little work, but there's definitely a trend a' starting.

Before Christmas, Nissan heralded the launch of its Qashqai with the Qashqai games site, showing the SUV/hatch thingy diving improbably off skate ramps and the like. And Fiat has gone all web-friendly in the build-up to the unveiling of the new 500, too.

And now, with the new Cooper just released in the States, it's Mini's turn to get in on the act with the fantastic www.defminirecords.com.

Following hot on the heels of Mini's spoof Hammer and Coop movie preview, it features rap, country and punk-rock acts extolling the virtues of the Cooper's safety equipment. Of course, it's all completely fictitious, but brilliantly well done nonetheless, with impressively catchy tunes.

Our favourite? Spoof boy band N-CAP with 'So Many Stars'. Inspired.