Autoblog

Click above to view the new Nissan Qashqai ad.

After Nissan scored creative points with its last Qashqai spot showing the 'lil CUV taking to the half pipe and performing skateboard stunts that would make Rodney Mullen's head spin, its now released a new campaign that involves – God help us – a driving dog, a Thai musical stunt team and a flaming hoop. The ad is part of Nissan's newest viral campaign that will highlight four amateur performance groups – the first from Thailand, followed by teams of Flemish, Polish and African descent – on the blog.spannerleague.com website. Look for new videos to pop up each month, but without further ado, hit the jump to watch man's best friend risk life and four limbs along with his band of (obviously fake) Thai musicians.

When an ad agency supporting Chrysler's Netherlands Market Performance Center created a viral ad for the Dodge Nitro that depicted a dog being electrocuted by the vehicle, they were so smitten with their work that they decided to put it on YouTube. The timing of the spot couldn't be any worse here in the US, where dog cruelty is making front page news. Chrysler execs in Auburn Hills, MI were quick to pull the ad from YouTube and go into damage control, as Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines called the spot "far beyond the bounds of what the company considers appropriate". Vines also pointed out that viral marketing in Europe is a little more over the top than it is here in the States, and anybody that has seen some of the old Ford KA internet spots knows that sort of insensitivity wouldn't float here. What surprises us is that any multinational automaker can air advertising without at least one high-ranking executive looking at it first.

[Source: Auto News (subscription req'd)]

The Dodge Nitro may not be flying off dealer lots right now, but at least the mid-size SUV's advertising campaign has taken on a life of its own. You probably remember the commercial in which the owner of a Nitro gives a motorist a jump, only to blow his car sky-high. Someone has cooked up a viral spot in which a dog that tries to do his business on a hydrant-red Nitro, but winds up getting the (last) shock of its life. PETA members can't be pleased, but it's just a commercial (a European one, based on that front license tag). Check it out after the jump, unless you've recently lost a pet. Especially to an angry Nitro that shoots Force lightning.

[Source: YouTube]

Thanks for the tip, Paul!

Thanks to Motoring File we have this "trailer" for a retro-styled actioner starring the new Mini Cooper as the automotive sidekick for a "man with no past" who looks suspiciously like Ben Stiller in the Starsky and Hutch remake. (At least the version of him in disguise at the charity ball with the sideburns and porn star mustache.)

Although it's reportedly appearing in multiplexes as a trailer for an upcoming movie, we're fairly certain (by "fairly" we mean 100%) that this is a clever ad campaign for the new MINI making its debut in the States a couple of weeks from now. Titled Hammer & Coop, there's even a website touting the new "flick."

Note that the typefaces used on the site are the same ones MINI uses for all their advertising/PR materials. Also, the "release date" is 2/17, which neatly coincides with the planned mid-February arrival of the cars at dealers. In all, it's a slick bit of marketing from the folks at MINI.

Follow the jump to watch the trailer in its entirety.

[Source: Motoring File]