The Mini is one of the world’s most customisable cars, with literally millions of custom combinations. Our task was to make New Zealanders aware of the sheer mindboggling ways you can customise a Mini.

Introducing the world’s first Carmonica. A car featuring over 300 harmonicas. An idea that pushed Mini’s customisation promise to the fullest. We’ve all seen custom sound systems before but not like this.

Two aspects guided the construction; the overall aesthetic, to make the Carmonica as eye-catching as possible when on the street. And airflow, to ensure the harmonicas were highly audible when the car was moving. The Carmonica campaign appeared as TV, ambient and online, complimented by the overarching theme, CustomAwesome.

A protective veneer covered the car in order to protect the paintwork. And the harmonicas were attached using a heat-resistant adhesive. Two aspects guided the construction; the overall aesthetic, - to make the Carmonica as eye-catching as possible when out on the street, and airflow, to ensure the harmonicas were highly audible when the car was in motion.

The idea was a playful testament to Mini's infinite number of custom options, as well as a unique hook for dealers at the Mini showroom to get potential customers behind the wheel. The story caught the eye of the national news media and didn’t stop there. Carmonica spread across the globe through motoring sites, car blogs and Buzz Feed where it caught the eye of James May from the BBC TV series, Top Gear. Now the world’s most watched car show is producing a piece on the Carmonica.

The idea reached a third of all New Zealanders and since launching, test drives have doubled and visits to the Mini website have grown by over 800%.