MINI announced it is unveiling a limited-edition collection of rooftops created in partnership with artists who are first-generation-Americans and immigrants, bringing their voices and stories to MINIs across the country.
The commissioned custom art will be sold in the United States for a limited time as MINI rooftop customization options. Through donations, MINI will support the American Immigration Council to help further their mission. The Council is a nonpartisan, non-profit that believes immigrants are a vital part of our national fabric. MINI shares the belief that the U.S. is made stronger when we welcome immigrants and create communities where everyone feels like they belong.
“MINI is an act of self-expression, and its rooftops are its purest form,” said Mike Peyton, Vice President, MINI of the Americas. “For decades, rooftops have been canvases for drivers’ pride. They celebrate our backgrounds and our differences. MINI believes ‘we are all different, but we’re better together’.”
The following artists created work that speak to their diverse heritage and their experiences growing up in America:
• Rich Tu is an artist and designer living in Brooklyn. He is a first-generation Filipino American who cares about culture and the future. Rich hosts “First Generation Burden,” a podcast that focuses on the intersection of immigrants and the creative community.
• Shane Griffin, who goes by Grif, is an award-winning multidisciplinary visual artist and director from Dublin, based in New York. Most recently, he collaborated with Wiz Khalifa on his "Millions" video, and has worked with Adidas, Apple, Givenchy, Kanye West, Nike, and many more.
• Shawna X is an independent artist and creative based in New York with Portland roots. She is known for her vibrant, visceral and graphical image-making across mediums in digital, spatial, and motion spaces. X is an homage to her Chinese name, Xiayun (Sia-yoon, translates into Summer Rue).
“Rich Tu, Shane Griffin, Shawna X, Pereira O’ Dell, and MINI's work on Big Love exemplifies the beauty and power that springs forth when you bring talented people together from all backgrounds in a spirit of collaboration," said Wendy Feliz, Director of the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council. “We are proud and fortunate to be the beneficiaries of this incredible effort and are eager to celebrate these artists and their work.”
MINI is a story of immigrants. Designed in 1959 by Alec Issigonis, an immigrant from Greece in the UK, MINI is now sold in 109 countries around the world and is a car that has been proudly owned by multiple generations, of nationalities and backgrounds, all of whom have made the brand uniquely their own.
This collaboration is part of MINI’s new brand platform Big Love — two little words with the power to inspire a world of positive action. The tagline is “We’re all different, but pretty good together.”
The commissioned custom art created by artists who are first-generation-Americans and immigrants will be featured in out-of-home murals in Brooklyn, New York; New York City’s SoHo neighborhood; and in Portland, Oregon.
Pereira O'Dell, a full-service bi-coastal creative agency, created and designed this new campaign. Pereira O’Dell has been MINI’s advertising agency of record since November 2017.
“Our agency is honored to work on this important campaign in partnership with MINI because we believe creating a more welcoming nation is one of the most important causes of our lifetime,” said PJ Pereira, Founder and Creative Chairman at Pereira O’Dell. “Thanks to our long-standing partnership with the Ad Council, we introduced MINI to the American Immigration Council. Like the American Immigration Council, our team believes that our nation is made better, stronger and more creative with the energy and skills that immigrants bring.”
National Immigrants Day was first celebrated on Oct. 28, 1987, the 101st anniversary of the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty. The annual observance has been a moving reminder that America is unique among the nations because we are the sons and daughters of every land across the globe.
