Business 2.0: Jaguar Goes Hollywood -- and Flops
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The site offers five short films, or webisodes, that combine original footage with animation from Chung, best known for producing MTV's anime science-fiction series Aeon Flux. The interlocking plots of the Jaguar films involve people who, when they see a Jaguar X-Type, are suddenly transformed into anime characters. Why? "Jaguar is about escapism and the transformation you feel when inside of one," explains Melissa Grady, Jaguar North America's relationship marketing manager. "Animation depicts that fantasy."
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Worse, the films are not credible. The actors -- young, sexy, vacant, and well-heeled -- come across like characters in a Bret Easton Ellis novel. (And what's the deal with the elementary school kid?) Also, no offense to Peter Chung, who's obviously talented, but how does this Japanese art form complement a high-end, high-performance British automobile?
Sure, anime was cutting edge 10 years ago, when Aeon Flux came out. Today it's beginning to feel old. In fact, this entire Web film campaign feels like a pitiful impression of BMW. Online marketing lesson: One size does not fit all -- even when wielding one of the day's most powerful marketing tools. To succeed online or off, even with sexy cartoon characters, good execution is a must.
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The site offers five short films, or webisodes, that combine original footage with animation from Chung, best known for producing MTV's anime science-fiction series Aeon Flux. The interlocking plots of the Jaguar films involve people who, when they see a Jaguar X-Type, are suddenly transformed into anime characters. Why? "Jaguar is about escapism and the transformation you feel when inside of one," explains Melissa Grady, Jaguar North America's relationship marketing manager. "Animation depicts that fantasy."
...
Worse, the films are not credible. The actors -- young, sexy, vacant, and well-heeled -- come across like characters in a Bret Easton Ellis novel. (And what's the deal with the elementary school kid?) Also, no offense to Peter Chung, who's obviously talented, but how does this Japanese art form complement a high-end, high-performance British automobile?
Sure, anime was cutting edge 10 years ago, when Aeon Flux came out. Today it's beginning to feel old. In fact, this entire Web film campaign feels like a pitiful impression of BMW. Online marketing lesson: One size does not fit all -- even when wielding one of the day's most powerful marketing tools. To succeed online or off, even with sexy cartoon characters, good execution is a must.
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