CAPTURING JAGUARS AT PLAY

Last week we debuted our dynamic new “Jaguar at Play” TV ad campaign, writes David Pryor, Brand Vice President of Jaguar North America. In it, we really wanted to communicate the tremendous energy and excitement that surrounds the Jaguar brand these days, especially with our new line‑up of 2012 high performance models.

In the 30‑second spot, we feature our very latest 550‑horsepower XKR‑S, our 510‑horsepower XFR and our flagship 510 horsepower XJ Supersport, showcasing the cars as highly‑animated objects, teasing, challenging and essentially playing with each other.

Most of the filming was done at the famous Mare Island Naval Shipyard on the Napa River 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, Calif. It has this remarkable collection of old buildings that provided the perfect backdrop to the high‑speed, high‑action driving sequences. We rigged each of the cars for sound to capture their exhaust roar as it echoes off the walls.

Renowned California‑based automotive photographer Vic Huber, of Coyote Productions, directed the TV spot. We also commissioned an original score from Anthony Marinelli, who has composed music for over 60 films. As you can sense, we’re pretty proud of the end result.

While the spot debuted on the NFL Network during the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks game, we’ll also be featuring it on a whole series of sports programming along with local and national cable channels, including CNN, ESPN and Comedy Central. It will run all the way through to March.

We’re hoping this new spot will really communicate and re‑affirm some of the key messages about our cars that we still don’t think enough luxury car buyers know about ‑ their performance and dynamic handling, their agility, as well as the beauty of the both the exterior and interior. We're also looking to showcase our advanced technology, like lightweight aluminum construction.

More than that, we really wanted to capture and convey the heightened sense of life that a driver will experience when they get behind the wheel of our cars.

If you haven’t seen the spot, be sure to take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihW_l0hOm0U.