BY VANESSA FUHRMANS

BERLIN—A cold front that has raged across much of Europe over the past week has brought arctic temperatures, icy high winds and dozens of deaths. In addition to its human toll, it has been a marketing snafu for BMW AG's Mini brand.

The cold snap has been so severe that the "Cooper" front has been headline news in Germany in recent days. It is no accident that it shares its name in part with the Mini Cooper, a British automotive icon of the 1960s that BMW revived in the 2000s.

Germany, it so happens, lets people—or companies—pick and sponsor the ...