So, I’ve given a couple of hints recently about the new MINI USA ad campaign, which is aimed primarily at existing MINI owners and presumably intends (a) to emphasise the MINI community and (b) to create intrique in non-MINI owners …
The concept is that all MINI owners should receive a package which includes “a book“; of course this book is not all it seems, and includes some “tools” needed to read messages that no-one else can read!
If you are “clever” enough to discover the secret compartment, you’ll find the tools you need to read adverts … The MINIUSA website carries details of the campaigns, including which magazines have the advert; I first learned of the campaign via this NorthAmericanMotoring thread, and bought the August 2006 issue of Blender – even before I received my “black box”.
Once you have the decoder kit and an advert, you can read a hidden message in the advert, which sends you to a website (which looks like this), containing lots of fun stuff to entertain, and eventually leads you to another promotion of MINI Takes The States!
NO, I’m still not going to reveal the secret website … but if you have your “black box” but no advert, you can download and print this scan from the Blender Advert (1.6MB) – make sure to print it at 300dpi and it will work as well as the original to read the secret message!
For those who don’t yet have their “black box”, try viewing the scan, especially the bottom half, with your eyes half closed 😉
M&I / GBMINI 
Nada here yet! Hey MINI where’s my Book?!
Yeah, me too. Where’s my book?!
Thanks for the scans..printed and will try when I get home. Had to print with PS, as firefox and preview ignored the resolution and would have printed at 72dpi (which then wouldn’t work with the decoder)
Once you have decoded the advert, you’ll be directed to this amusing website (echoes of Men Of Metal)
I decoded mine and made it to the website. I can read the website and it wants me to download something. Since I am at work, I do not want to download. Have to wait until I get home.
If you take the scanned image into Photoshop or some other image editor, you can stretch the image down until it’s legible as well (since I don’t have my decoder with me here at work).
There’s a much bigger resolution image too, if you want to play 😉
Thanks for drawing me to my favorite true MINI blog. Yup, that is exactly what i expect to see in my mailbox one of these days…