I got hooked on TV car ads long before I started compiling the printed car ad Top 10 list. Unlike for the printed ones, there is a flourishing ecosystem for TV ads, crowned by the ads made for the famous Superbowl timeslots. In 2014 Jaguar launched a new campaign with British actors who are A-listed in Hollywood, as part of F-Type model launch on the US market. The flagship of the campaign was a one-minute TV commercial titled Rendezvous, that was premiered in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl (that’s a top high end of an 8 digit sum just in advertising cost). In addition, the campaign included trailers and teasers and printed ads in New York City Subway trains in before the Super Bowl.
The clip was directed by Tom Hooper (responsible for movies like The King’s Speech), and was filmed in London with worldwide well-known British actors Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong and Tom Hiddleston. It is difficult to compare, but the cost of this campaign probably exceeded the total budget of the JLR Group for all car shows that year.
The main theme is stemming from the statistical evidence that Brits play the best villains in Hollywood movies.
This is explained by common virtues of Brits and Jaguars, I probably won’t spoil the fun if I tell you upfront: stiff upper lip is key.
The main video was accompanied by an extended version, that I did not really like, it rather shows the skills of the director to remain focused.
The campaign was also anticipated by a series of short teasers with Hiddleston.
And finally a second campaign (this time for the XE model) starring Hiddleston and fresh shooting star Nicolas Hoult, who has become the second Jaguar ambassador to tackle Jag’s Smart Cone challenge after F1 driver Romain Grosjean set the score to beat.
The first main ad definitely worked for me, I found it at a perfect mix of being humorous and stylish, without risking too much for being original. The message is also subtle, but full of ambiguous references “Maybe we just sound right”, “we are obsessed by power”. I was a bit surprised to learn, that this was too much for some, as at some point of time, the campaign was under the axe, as one of the teasers were deemed unfit for the UK market.
