“The Loeries recognise the best in creative excellence, and we're delighted that our work on the MINI account has been recognised for its turbo launch of a convertible at a time when consumer auto-spending chugs along in the slow lane,' said Abey Mokgwatsane, CEO of VWV.

Singled out for its success at staging the event set to drive the MINI into the fast lane, VWV conceptualised the idea of a series of street parties located in four iconic cities around the world, set in different time zones, with guests test-driving the MINI in between cities.

The VWV event took place across four city blocks that transform into London 1969, Paris 1979, New York 1989, Rome 1999, and Joburg 2009. “The idea of guests visiting different cities set in different decades added depth and texture to the event; it also offered the opportunity to acknowledge the MINI legacy which began exactly 50 years ago,” added Mokgwatsane.

One of the biggest contributing factors to the success of the event was VWV's attention to authenticity of each city setting. To bring each street party to life cities were recreated with as much plausibility as possible from décor, food, ambiance, props and live entertainment. “Delight is in the detail and the entertainment is no different! In London we had eight performers enacting a slice of life from the 1960's. Paris 1979 featured an amateur movie crew who elicited the help of unsuspecting guests. 1989 was set on the streets of New York and included an altercation between a yellow-cab driver, original on set, and his Yankee-accented passenger. Street performers, roasted chestnuts and a bag lady added authenticity,” said Mokgwatsane.

Rome 1999 was the dessert and coffee moment of the culinary experience, with a taste of Italian opera, and a fashion shoot where guests posed with models on a sexy black MINI. “Engaging the audience or customer is what our marketing mix niche does best, and the audience loved the fact that it was more than just a one-dimensional test-drive event,” concluded Mokgwatsane. The time travel whirl around the world ended back in the city of Joburg in 2009 with a trendy underground CBD party venue.

For more information visit VWV's new website at www.vwv.com.

Updated Thursday, 5 November 2009