Jag hops on Super Bowl ad bandwagon

Jaguar is preparing to tout the brand's British roots in a new advertising campaign called "British Villains" that will be its largest ever and include its first Super Bowl commercial.

The campaign will be used to launch the new F-Type coupe that debuts at the Los Angeles auto show later this month and goes on sale in April. The 30-second Super Bowl commercial will run during the second half of next year's event on Feb. 2.

The campaign is Jaguar's biggest, said Jeff Curry, who was appointed brand vice president of Jaguar North America in August. He declined to give spending figures.

Jaguar spent $74 million on U.S. advertising and media exposure last year, according to Kantar Media. Fox is expected to fetch about $4 million for a 30-second spot during the 2014 Super Bowl, Ad Age, a sister publication of Automotive News, reported this week.

Jaguar chose the campaign theme largely because Brits often make the best television and film villains, with a long line of famous rogues. They include Anthony Hopkins, star of the Academy-award winning shocker "Silence of the Lambs," and Ralph Fiennes in "Schindler's List."

"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," Jaguar said today in unveiling the new campaign.

"Disruptors create the story, they define pop culture," said Stuart Schorr, spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover North America. "In storytelling, the most interesting character is the villain, almost like the bad side of James Bond. We got intrigued by that set of characters."

Jaguar wouldn't disclose which "renowned" British actors it will use.

The campaign is being filmed by British director Tom Hooper, an Academy Award winner. It will launch with the Twitter hashtag, #GoodToBeBad.

The campaign is worldwide, but will be led by the United States and the brand's in-house agency Spark 44, which has offices in Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt and China.

The campaign "is a real chance to put Jaguar right in the heart of the luxury conversation," said Curry, 43, who was previously vice president of marketing for Ferrari North America. "For me, it is a unique opportunity as a marketer."

Mercedes-Benz and Audi are attempting to expand the luxury segment with new vehicles that start at under $30,000, and "that opens a spot for us in the luxury car market as a bit of a challenger and underdog brand to the luxury car norm," Curry said.

"That is guiding everything we do from a marketing standpoint. We are offering a clear choice from the other brands."

Jaguar not only has a long history of sports cars, but new products like the F-Type convertible that went on sale earlier this year.

A teaser spot called "Disrupter," will be unveiled today and will air on Nov. 10 during the 2013 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles Jaguar Britannia Awards on BBC America and during NFL games.

Jaguar's U.S. sales have risen 36 percent through October, outpacing competitors and the market.

The campaign will give Jaguar more visibility as it prepares to launch a new compact sedan that will compete with the BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz c-Class, Curry said.

The new Jaguar sedan will go on sale in Europe in 2015 and in the United States in early 2016. Jaguar showed a concept crossover at the Frankfurt auto show that it will bring to the Los Angeles show to gauge consumer reactions, Curry said.

The sedan and crossover concept share the same architecture.

Jaguar will also launch a holiday campaign with finance and lease incentives similar to those waged every year by major luxury brands, Curry said.

But unlike rivals, whose campaigns run from October through December, Jaguar's will begin on Dec. 1. The theme is "Unwrap a Jaguar."

"We are taking a counter approach," he said. "We are the small player in the market, but luxury car buyers look for a deal at the end of the year. We will have a package.

"It is the first time we will have it in a long time."

The article Jaguar joins Super Bowl ad fray with 'British Villains' campaign originally appeared on Automotive News

By Diana T. Kurylko- Automotive News