Dear Mini, Thank you for your Union Jack tail lights.
They are simultaneously distinctive and differentiating.
And they make me smile.
Now national flags can be overdone.
And are oftentimes problematic.
And boy does the world need fewer of the problems that come with flag-bearing populist nationalism.
(Fingers crossed for 2024 – the year of elections – and a swing back to liberal democracy across the world.)
But flags carry meaning.
People have strong associations with them, in the filing cabinets of their minds.
And for me, your Union Jack taillights make an association back to the cool Britannia of the swinging sixties, Michael Caine and Twiggy.
But thank you for not overdoing it.
For keeping it subtle and under-stated.
For saying “British” without resorting to the tired tropes of Buckingham Palace, red phoneboxes, London taxis, Beefeaters and the like.
And thank you for connecting a new technology capability (LED gizmos) and design, to something that actually means something to people.
Ovals, swoops and slashes all look nice. But they don’t really mean anything until meaning is instilled into them – which takes time.
Volvo’s Thor hammer thingy is cool, and for sure it is becoming a distinctive asset over time.
But you need to be somewhat in-the-know to connect it all back to Sweden, the Viking Age and Volvo-ness.
And Mercedes’ 3-pointed star configuration on the new 2024 E-Class is certainly distinctive and reinforces the brand. Like many of the best designs and ideas it’s so simple and obvious that it’s a bit of a curiosity that they didn’t think of it before.
So thank you Mini for being both distinctive (immediately recognisable) and differentiating (carrying & enhancing your brand meaning) with your Union Jack tail lights.
Ned