Mini Cooper sponsors deadly weather
Munich-based ad agency Sassenbach, whose clients include BMW, has paid to have the cold weather front sweeping Europe named 'Cooper' after the BMW-owned Mini Cooper. The stunt, which cost the agency €229, was ill-advised however after the freezing conditions led to at least 100 deaths, mainly in Poland and Ukraine.
Germany's meteorology institute allows the sponsorship of weather systems and Sassenbach has said on its website that naming the weather front after the car was a "wind- and weather-proof idea".
The BBC has reported that the agency is "no longer commenting on the unfortunate correlation between the progress of the severe weather and the car it sought to publicise".
It is also reported that a warmer weather front to follow has been named "Minnie".
BMW has apologised for the stunt in a statement in which the carmaker said it deeply regretted that the weather had taken on "catastrophic proportions".
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