BMW has spent £40 million sponsoring the 2012 London Olympics, but it’s a small fleet of remote controlled MINI’s that provide the value.

BMW has done all it can to promote its sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympics, and with a spend said to be in the region of £40 million, who can blame them?

But it’s not just local shopkeepers and enthusiastic small businesses that are hamstrung by Olympic rules on advertising, the Olympic sponsors are too. Which is why you never see the advertising hoardings in an Olympic Stadium we’re all used to seeing at most sporting events.

That obstacle makes it tough for sponsors to get their message across where all eyes are, but BMW has delivered a marketing masterstroke with a fleet of remote controlled MINIs used for ferrying the javelin, hammer and discus around the field as events unfold.

MINI has managed to get round the ‘No Branding’ rule by making sure the remote controlled MINIs carry no MINI badges, but with a shape recognised by car buyers across the globe, that hardly matters.

Photos of remote controlled MINI London 2012

The three remote controlled MINI’s are around 1/4 scale and have enough battery power to ferry payloads of up to 8kg around for 35 minutes before needing and 80 minute recharge, and are painted in blue and orange and carry the Olympic logo and a slightly cheeky ‘It’s a MINI Adventure’ strapline.

It’s a real coup for BMW, with those three little remote controlled MINI’s probably justifying their £40 million sponsorship almost single handedly.

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