Jaguar Debuts New Web Vids
Taking a cue from BMW, Jaguar aims to prop up X-Type sales.
by Jim Burt (2004-10-25)




Jaguar Cars begins running a series of "Webisodic" ad/films aimed at promoting its entry-level X-Type model line on Monday, Oct. 25.

The theme of the effort is "Xing Over," (crossing over) and centers around people trapped in the routine of their daily mundane life until they come into contact with an X-Type model. Then, each character steps into a world of anime animation. The first film features a delayed train passenger who is transported to a more stimulating world via an X-Type Sport. The second film has a bored corporate executive trapped in a tedious board meeting liberated via an X-Type. Each of the five Webisodes, released over the next five weeks, are chapters in the eight-minute movie.

Internet films are becoming a more common genre of advertising. Perhaps the most celebrated effort in this arena has been the two series of BMW films, titled The Hire. The BMW Films have featured actors such as Madonna, Mickey Rourke, and Gary Oldman, and directors including Guy Ritchie, John Woo, and Tony Scott.

The "name" talent behind Jaguar's Webisodes is animator Peter Chung, best known for work in the anime genre, the Japanese style of animation that has been taking hold in the U.S. for several years.

Starting today, the films can be viewed atwww.x-ingover.com.

Spiked!

This is not the first time Jaguar has dabbled in film. In 1999, the British brand contracted actor-director Spike Lee to write and direct a film that was distributed via video to Jaguar owners and prospects. The project was viewed as a dud, given critical and customer indifference.

The X-Type has been a problem child for Jaguar and corporate parent Ford Motor Co. After initially attracting a large number of new buyers to Jaguar, negative industry buzz about the vehicle has turned sales in the other direction. Jaguar is trying to spark sales not only with the new Web films, but with the addition of a sport wagon version that was originally supposed to be distributed in Europe only. The Web films use the X-Type Sport model in the story lines.

Critically speaking, the trouble with these films is that they don't transcend being mere advertising. In the second installment, for example, we see a young man clearly chafing under the humdrum of the corporate life, even if the meeting is about a takeover. He sees an X-Type outside the office window and is drawn to it like it had a spell over him. He leaves, gets in the car, is transformed to an anime world, loosens his tie, and starts speeding down the road, dodging debris falling on the road from a truck. And…that's it. With each Webisode lasting less than 90 seconds, the clips don't have the chance to look like anything but advertising.

In the case of BMW's films, each lasts eight to ten minutes. In the case of a series of Net films done by Buick last year, featuring Tiger Woods surprising golfers with a closest to the hole contest, the sheer fun and surprise of the situation, as well as Woods' star power, carried the day in films that lasted about two minutes.

Here, it appears that Jaguar, like some other advertisers, have been seduced by the anime form for its own sake. For the uninitiated, anime animation has a quality that makes the animation look like a comic book (a very well done comic book) unfolding in live action. This differs from the style we normally associate with cartoons, a la Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Okay, anime is nice. It's visually interesting. But it's been around long enough that the form is not new or interesting enough to carry the day. If you are going to do Net films, and go to the trouble of trickling the episodes out one a week, the stories have to be compelling enough to viewers to come back. My guess is after the second installment, if not the first, most people who sign up for e-mail alerts for when the next episode is available will say, "Okay… I get it… It's an ad… Next."

Because viewership of traditional TV is waning, the Internet is gaining advertiser ad dollars. Far from usual banner advertising, a fast growing form of Web advertising is so-called "rich media" in which video, film, and other display media that depends on broadband connections is integrated into the surfing experience.

Jaguar has been searching for a compelling and consistent voice in its advertising for a few years now. It has lately focused its messages on speed and performance, though a new TV spot for the long-wheelbase XJ is more focused on the prestige of the car. In any case, judging from these Web films, Jaguar has a few more miles to go in its search for a strong message for its marketing.