Commentary

Brandtique: Jaguar, 'America's Most Smartest Model'

At one point in a recent episode of VH1's new reality-competition gambit, "America's Most Smartest Model," a top Jaguar executive tells a contestant who just finished making a sales pitch for the new XKR convertible: "Basically, you figured it out--what the consumer is like, who's going to buy that car, what our audience is like."

The contestant's sales pitch covered horsepower and supercharged V8s and other truly jaw-dropping features, while trying to add a more emotional flavor too--and it may indeed have had considerable resonance with the target market for the high-end Jag.

But Jaguar's decision to opt for a brand integration in the new "Smartest Model" series seems curious at best--largely because the bulk of the viewers on VH1 just don't seem to be what Jaguar's "audience is like." How many watching a reality series on the younger-skewing network--where the goal is to discover the dreamboat with the best combination of beauty and brains--are ready to pony up $90,000-plus for a sleek convertible?

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Wouldn't a Mustang that comes at about a third of the price be more realistic? (Ford owns Jag, so maybe some cross-unit communication could have helped, assuming it didn't take place.)

Perhaps, Jaguar felt the "Most Smartest Model" co-host Ben Stein would attract some older, wealthier, more educated consumers.

To be sure, some tactics used in the marketing of luxury vehicles center on an aspirational ethic. In other words, inculcate younger consumers early about how great, say, a Mercedes is--even if they can't afford it now--and hope it becomes top-of-mind and top-of-heart for a purchase down the line.

But the esteemed Jaguar weaved into a VH1 series with intentionally improper grammar in the title seems slightly more like a vanity play than well-crafted strategy. After all, the two Jaguar executives who appeared on Dec. 2 got plenty of air time, and there were plenty of impressive shots of their roadsters.

The pair made their first appearance to inform the contestants what their challenge would be in order to avoid elimination: Compete to make the most sterling sales pitch for the top-of-the-line XKR convertible (one of the top product placements of the week, according to measurement firm iTVX.) Later, they served on the judging panel.

While having company executives introduce the task in person smacked of "The Apprentice," it did have a smoother feel than what happens when Donald Trump stands with, say, the CEO of El Pollo Loco or CMO of Toyota. The Jag executives were on their own and Trump didn't have to awkwardly ask them for their names on camera (Wouldn't it be better if Trump just asked before air and introduced the execs himself, rather than say: "And you are?").

Moving forward, the contestants then made their pitches for the Jag XKR. The models weren't showing their runway stuff ("beauty"), but "brains" in memorizing the XKR attributes and then presenting them--along with offering some personal testimonials to an audience, spokesmodel-style.

They did so with the sleek black convertible beside them, and the model contestants certainly gave the Jag some impressive plugs.

One said: "Yesterday, I got to ride in a new Jaguar XKR ... and my heart kept fluttering." Another: "The XKR hit the markets December of last year, or should I say intimidated the markets in December of last year?"

Nonetheless, from an execution standpoint in the episode, there were two questionable plays. The first came as Stein announced a reward for a two-person team that just won an early challenge.

As doors to a garage opened broadly, in drove a new silver XKR. And some viewers were surely impressed: A minor challenge yielding a $100,000 roadster? Forget an SUV on "Deal or No Deal."

But then Stein essentially offered a letdown deal: "We're not giving you a brand-new Jaguar, but the two of you will get to drive it back to (where they live) tonight." So, essentially the reward is what an average Joe can do by visiting a showroom? Stein's verbal legerdemain was off; he should have used more of a positive spin.

Second, before the sales pitches, a Jaguar executive brought the competitors into a drab meeting room to give them fodder for their selling. Then, she reeled off essentially an equally drab PowerPoint presentation--there were mentions about horsepower and the V8, but also the XKR's "adaptive restraint technology system" and "dynamic stability control." Not exactly what a guilty-pleasure-seeking VH1 prime-time audience would seem to be looking for. Her recitation lasted 19 seconds on screen, but seemed like 1900.

Bottom line: For a marketer that has set the bar high with its memorable effort featuring Sting in what felt more like a music video than an ad, Jag's integration in the VH1 series just didn't seem "most smartest."

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