Jaguar Announces Three Renowned Actors to Appear in its First Super Bowl Commercial Launching “British Villains” Campaign

14 January 2014

Today, Jaguar North America announced the three renowned actors to appear in “Rendezvous,” its 60‑second television advertisement to debut during the second half of Super Bowl XLVIII, and revealed details of its largest‑ever brand and product marketing campaign, called “British Villains”, which introduces the Jaguar F‑TYPE Coupé

  • Renowned British actors Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong to star in Jaguar's cinematic "Rendezvous" spot, filmed by Oscar‑winning British director Tom Hooper
  • The 60‑second ad will debut during Super Bowl XLVIII, February 2 on Fox
  • Spot launches "British Villains" campaign, running through July, and raises the bar of automotive advertising to cinematic caliber for the introduction of the F‑TYPE Coupe, Jaguar's all‑new, high‑performance sports car
  • Robust, multi‑channel campaign includes broadcast, digital, print, OOH and innovative Super Bowl week activations
  • Jaguar grows U.S. sales by 41 percent in 2013 on power of F‑TYPE convertible and new all‑wheel drive XF and XJ models 

(MAHWAH, N.J.) ‑ Today, Jaguar North America announced the three renowned actors to appear in "Rendezvous," its 60‑second television advertisement to debut during the second half of Super Bowl XLVIII, and revealed details of its largest‑ever brand and product marketing campaign, called "British Villains", which introduces the Jaguar F‑TYPE Coupe (on sale spring, 2014). "Rendezvous" stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong, and was filmed by Oscar‑winning British director, Tom Hooper, in London.  It is Jaguar's first Super Bowl TV advertisement. 

"With 'British Villains', Jaguar will present itself on the Super Bowl stage as a challenger to the usual luxury car suspects, with a unique cinematic expression of our modern British style," said Jeff Curry, Brand Vice President, Jaguar North America.  "With the three renowned actors, Sir Ben, Tom and Mark, who have all played memorable film rogues, we have brought together the best of British film to star in a major motion picture caliber campaign that addresses the simple cultural observation that Brits often play the best villains in film.  This talent, coupled with the direction of Academy Award‑winner director Tom Hooper, enables us to launch our campaign for the F‑TYPE Coupe in a manner that captures the new spirit of the entire brand inspired by our latest sports car." 

"Jaguar is truly a beloved British brand and it's exciting to help them make some noise as they debut in a beloved American event, the Super Bowl," said Sir Ben Kingsley. "As for being known for playing the roles of renowned villains, I'll have to ponder that one ‑ I think I'm flattered?!"

The campaign creative, developed with a cinematic vision, centers around the new "Rendezvous" television commercial. In addition to the 60‑second spot to air in the Super Bowl, a 30‑second preview of "Rendezvous" will debut online on January 28 and run on high‑profile, digital channels throughout February.  Jaguar also previewed its Super Bowl spot with "The Setup", staring Sir Ben Kingsley, during the CBS and FOX NFL Divisional Playoff games, January 11 and 12. At the end of the commercial, viewers were invited to view "The Setup" on the campaign's dedicated landing page, www.BritishVillains.com, and use the unique hashtag, #GoodToBeBad to engage with the brand throughout the campaign. The original score for "Rendezvous" was composed and conducted by Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Tom Hooper on The King's Speech and recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra at the iconic Abbey Road studios. 

The "British Villains" campaign and its many supporting assets were produced specifically for the launch of the F‑TYPE Coupe around the broadcast of the 2014 Super Bowl and builds on the momentum of Jaguar following the successful launch of the F‑TYPE convertible and a 41 percent sales increase in 2013. 

"2014 will continue a very significant period in the growth of the Jaguar brand, marked by quickly rising sales, and new beautifully designed products coming to market, like the F‑TYPE Coupe this year, and in the future, an all‑new compact sports sedan," added Curry.  "This is perhaps the brand's most memorable marketing campaign and deserves to appear in one of the most‑watched sporting events, the Super Bowl." 

"British Villains" captures the premise that Brits have long made the best villains in landmark films, combining intelligence with charm, restlessness with calm, and always confident. In the world of pop culture, villains disrupt the status quo and challenge the establishment, while living one step ahead of, and better than, the pack. The campaign asks the question, 'Have you ever noticed how in Hollywood movies, all the villains are played by Brits?'  It was filmed by Hooper in London in a creative partnership with his Smuggler Films production house. 

"This is one of those jobs that can really be a lot of fun, so I was quite happy to oblige when Jaguar asked me to be a part of their first Super Bowl commercial," said Hooper.  "To work with the caliber of great actors we cast in this project is a truly special experience on its own and reflects the cinematic approach that we took in the production with Jaguar." 

SPARK44, the lead strategic communications partner for Jaguar, was responsible for the creative positioning and strategy behind the campaign, while Mindshare managed the communications planning and buying.  In addition to broadcast, the multi‑channel campaign will feature unique outdoor creative throughout New York City, print, digital and consumer activations hosted with a wide array of media partners, and special events in the week leading up to the Super Bowl. 

During the game, Jaguar aims to be the most real‑time engaged advertiser during the Super Bowl through a unique physical space called"The Loop,"  developed by Mindshare, where multiple screens will monitor real‑time consumer data and translate it into actionable insights, and ultimately, rapid marketing decisions, or "Adaptive Marketing." 

"The Loop" is the first real‑time marketing tool to impact paid media ‑ whereby media dollars can be quickly shifted and redeployed to leverage opportunities uncovered by the data.  Rapid, relevant and responsive, "The Loop" puts data at the center and creates a channel‑agnostic, holistic approach to real‑time marketing in an unprecedented manner. 

Other marketing assets from Jaguar's "British Villains" campaign include:

  • New York City out‑of‑home placements, including an innovative F‑TYPE wrap of 10 subway cars on the F‑Train line (CBSOutdoor) and 20 street level wild postings in New York City, January 13 through February 9
  • Cable TV run of the 30‑second "Rendezvous" spot on networks such as BBC America, IFC and ESPN, February 3 through February 23
  • Print ads break in early February (March/April books) in top national lifestyle and auto enthusiast publications such as Motor Trend, Car and Driver and Sports Illustrated
  • Digital Advertising (banner ads) breaks on January 20
  • A BritishVillains.com landing page will launch on JaguarUSA.com, hosting "in‑character" five‑second sound bites from Sir Ben, Tom and Mark, that speak to capabilities of Jaguar's high‑performance R models and an in‑depth behind‑the‑scenes making of "Rendezvous;" it also will allow users to view additional content, share content on social media sites and gather information about the F‑TYPE Coupe and the R line of performance cars
  • Media buys with BBC America.com for their "Anglophenia" blog, and with NFL.com for "The 6 Borough Experience
  • Integrated partnerships with IFC, Gawker, Sports Illustrated and Pandora that includes:
    • IFC to present "Villains on Villains" Double Feature Film Night on February 10, featuring Silence of the Lambs and A Clockwork Orange, iconic films starring British villains
    • Gawker Media is producing and publishing a themed kinja page, http://goodtobebad.kinja.com/, and is hosting a co‑sponsored event in the week leading up to the Super Bowl
    • Sports Illustrated will host British Villains advertising on SI.com, while Jaguar will sponsor an original video series about infamous sports villains
    • Jaguar will team up with Pandora Radio to invite subscribers to contribute to the GoodToBeBad Mixtape ‑ a crowdsourced compilation of the best of British music for release on January 20

The new all‑aluminum F‑TYPE Coupe, including the first F‑TYPE R model, expands the Jaguar lineup beginning in spring 2014 and starting at $65,0001. Available in three versions, the F‑TYPE R Coupe is powered by a 550hp 5‑liter supercharged V8 engine and will reach 60 mph in 4.0 seconds, and a top speed of 186 mph (electronically limited)2. The F‑TYPE S Coupe and F‑TYPE Coupe are powered by 3‑liter supercharged V6 engines in 380hp and 340hp forms respectively, going 0‑60 mph in 4.8/5.1 seconds and top speeds of 171/161 mph2 

Biographies of Jaguar's "British Villains" campaign stars: 

Sir Ben Kingsley is recognized as one of the finest British actors and first earned international fame for his performance in the 1982 movie, Gandhi. His performance as "Mahatma Gandhi" earned him international fame. He has won multiple awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor, a Golden Globe, BAFTA and London Film Critics' Circle Awards.  Kingsley has appeared in countless other acclaimed films, including Schindler's List, The Tale of Sweeney Todd and Anne Frank: The Whole Story, for which he won a Screen Actors' Guild Award.  Throughout his career, Kingsley has played many "villainous" roles, including those in the films Sexy Beast and Iron Man 3.  He was awarded Knight Bachelor in the Queen's New Year's Honors List in 2002.  In 2010, Kingsley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tom Hiddleston is a young British actor and is best known for playing the character of Loki in the Marvel Studios films Thor, The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World. Other notable roles have included Steven Spielberg's World War I film War Horse, Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, the British drama The Deep Blue Sea, Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, the 2012 BBC series Henry IV and Henry V. He is currently playing Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse at Covent Garden theatre in London's West End. Tom won the MTV Movie Award for 'Best Fight' and 'Best Villain' in 2013 for his role in The Avengers. 

Mark Strong  is a British actor who is best known for his roles in Sherlock Holmes, Body of Lies, The Young Victoria, Syriana, Kick‑Ass, Green Lantern, Zero Dark Thirty, Robin Hood, and John Carter.  He often portrays villains or antagonists. Strong is also a familiar face on British television, where he has had starring roles in two BBC drama series, including Our Friends in the North and The Long Firm, for which he earned a BAFTA nomination.

Tom Hooper is an Academy Award‑winning British film and television director best known for his work in The King's Speech (2010), Les Miserables (2012) and The Damned United (2009) and TV mini‑series John Adams.  

#  #  #