Tom Hiddleston’s Jaguar ads are too fast & too sexy, UK Ad Council claims

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I kind of wonder if Jaguar’s “Good To Be Bad” ad campaign had much of an impact. It feels like Jaguar really put some serious money into the campaign, and they got a lot of added gossip/blog coverage by featuring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Strong and Ben Kingsley (also: Benedict Cumberbatch did voice work on another commercial for the same campaign). Tommy Hiddles first had to share his screen time with Strong and Kingsley, but they did give him a surprisingly funny solo commercial, where the subtext seemed to be that he had somebody’s head in a fabulous leather satchel. But now the dream has died!!! Sort of.

The U.K. advertising watchdog has banned a Jaguar spot featuring Thor star Tom Hiddleston for encouraging irresponsible driving. The latest installment of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover’s online ad campaign with the slogan “It’s good to be bad” was entitled “The Art of Villainy” and promoted the Jaguar F-type coupe. “They say Brits play the best villains,” Hiddleston says in the spot before exploring what makes a great villain.

The latest YouTube spot showed Hiddleston explaining what makes a great villain while starting a Jaguar in a garage and then driving off at high speed while quoting Shakespeare’s Richard II. A consumer complaint to Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority suggested the spot encouraged unsafe driving. The auto maker responded by highlighting that the spot was mainly set in the garage where the car “barely moved.”

It added that the car leaves the garage at “normal road speeds” before accelerating “briefly.” Jaguar also said that policemen were present during the shoot of the commercial to ensure that the speed limit was not exceeded. The ad watch dog agreed that speed wasn’t the “primary focus” of the spot, but also noted that the noise of acceleration and speed with which the car left the garaged “appeared to suggest significant speed within an enclosed environment.”

Hiddleston’s on-screen commentary added to that feel, it argued. “We also considered significant speed was suggested when the car accelerated on the public road after the character said “Now brace yourselves” and again when the car exited a tunnel and sped away from other cars on the road,” the ASA said. “Whilst on-screen text stated “Professional driver. Closed course. Always obey speed limits,” we considered the overall impression consumers would take from those scenes was of a car being driven on a public road (with other cars present) at speed and that the on-screen text would not negate that impression.”

The ASA concluded: “We considered that the second part of the ad suggested that the car was being driven at excessive speeds and that the ad therefore encouraged irresponsible driving.” As a result, “the ad must not appear again in its current form,” the agency said.

It added: “We told Jaguar Land Rover not to portray speed of driving behavior that might encourage motorists to drive irresponsibly in future.”

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

By now you know that I am a world-class nit-picker. I can disassemble anything and everything. I can parse all day long. I can don a tin-foil hat and spin wondrous conspiracies. But even this is too nit-picky for my taste. This is asinine. If the argument was “we can’t allow this commercial because the subtext is Tom Hiddleston just killed a man and has his victim’s head in the boot of the Jag,” that would be one thing. But going bonkers over the speed in a garage? For real?

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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178 Responses to “Tom Hiddleston’s Jaguar ads are too fast & too sexy, UK Ad Council claims”

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  1. Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

    aaaaahh…. what?? I don’t care about the Jag!! Leave Tom feature in the ad! (sobs)

    Too incredibly nit-picky. And all luxury cars ads encourage fast driving… it is a Jag, FGS, not a Peugeot 107….

    • Anna says:

      OMG Tommy just got bad-boy street cred. Literally. Sucks for Jaguar (though… upside of the commercial now going viral bc of this unexpected publicity?) but good for Tommy. I bet his swinging hips are doing a happy dance now!

      • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

        LOL Yes I guess it raises his profile, Anna 🙂 concerning Jaguar, anyone who can afford to buy one is someone who wants to drive fast and that won’t stop them to buy a Jaguar. The complaints to the UK watchdog were silly and asinine in the first place….

      • Vesta says:

        @Anna – But…I thought Tommy already had bad-boy credibility?! That pose above with the shiny & frappuccino-coloured Harley is SOOO bad ass, no? He even has his hands crossed – what is he praying for? Someone to bring him a double vanilla toffee-sprinkles frappuccino, just because it would suite his bike so well? 😉

  2. FranticallyBored says:

    I don’t care the reason, I’m just very happy with these almost-daily Tom Hiddleston posts.

  3. Kate says:

    There are very clear rules about what kind of driving you can show in UK car ads, advertisers purposefully ignore them so their ad is banned and the car is associated with extreme speed. Jaguar’s gotten what it wanted here. Now people will purposefully seek the ad out online, so along with making the brand seem cool and dangerous they’ve gotten an audience for their ad without having to pay to get it on TV.

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Ohhh…that makes sense.

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

      In fact, the whole Top Gear show should be banned then, given the absurd speed of all cars featured in that program….

      • icerose says:

        Ban Top Gear???but what’s his name or he who excels in sexist, racist asides cannot be banned because he is a natural treasure and natural treasures cannot be banned. Tom however is not a national treasure as yet but Benny and his quirky little hats is and off the cuff remarks is well on his way.

    • Kali says:

      Yeah, it’s a fairly common ploy around the world! I’m surprised more people aren’t seeing that. And, to be honest, I completely see where the Advertising Standards people are coming from. Even putting aside what rules it’s most likely breaking (I don’t know Brit advertising standards), if you look at it from the point of view of an average tv viewer, it clearly looks like an evil villain speeding away from the scene of a crime.

    • Sixer says:

      Wowser! That’s so devious!

    • Janeite says:

      Brilliant!

    • icerose says:

      I read that it is the third Jag add to be banned for promoting speeding,
      But you do have to laugh we have a series of adds basically promoting organised crime bosses as something to be admired and as Kaiser said the carrying dead bodies in the boot and they are quibbling about breaking a 30 mile an hour speed limit.

  4. T.Fanty says:

    The advert is gloriously camp and fabulous. Let Tom Be Great! I want him to get more and more camp until one day, he just spontaneously bursts into Kenneth Williams.

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

      LOL what an absurd idea… censoring an ad featuring Tom!! heresy!! I’m outraged!! Must write to the UK blahblah council pronto!!

    • Sixer says:

      Could we make the spontaneous bursting into Quentin Crisp instead? I have reasons:

      1) He could then come to NYC and be your pal (albeit dusty pal).

      2) I get an in to use my all-time favourite line of “stately homo of England”.

      • T.Fanty says:

        While I certainly like points 1 and 2, I’m still holding out hope for a remake of Carry on Cleo with Tom and Cumby doing Caesar and Antony respectively. With a bit of luck, their careers will hit the skids, and then they’ll be forced to acknowledge the infinite wisdom of my idea. I especially like the idea of Tom being perpetually reminded of how the “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” line goes. He wouldn’t even have to act the indignation.

      • Sixer says:

        Ooh. And after such a riproaring success at career rejuvenation, they’ll reboot Up Pompeii. DUC for the Frankie Howerd slave role. Tommy for the virginal senator’s son. You can be Erotica (I’m in a sucking up mood) and I’ll be the misery guts Senna the Soothsayer. Tickets £5 at the Sixer Village Hall during Festival Week.

      • T.Fanty says:

        Huzzah!!
        *hurries off to find a bedsheet and safety pin*

      • Make mine a double says:

        Where can I get my ticket?
        My favourite line – “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got in in for me.” Love, love love Carry on Cleo. And please let them do Willow the Wisp. With maybe Sienna G as Evil Edna (going around zapping loads of teeny boppers in high heels with her evil tv antenna).

      • joe spider says:

        Surely that was John Gielgud?

    • Lindy79 says:

      HAHA!
      I’m now imagining him in Will O’The Wisp

    • Sixer says:

      Or, or, or…

      … we could draft in Benny the Bouncer and transmogrify the pair of ’em into Gilbert and George and make them live in Brick Lane?

      • T.Fanty says:

        I was thinking more Hinge and Bracket, myself. Especially when we factor in how much TommyAnne loves to sing.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Keep going, ladies. I’m ready to purchase a season subscription to Sixer Hall for these shows. Any parts for Bill Nighy and Idris ?

      • T.Fanty says:

        I need to think about Idris, but I figure we just give Nighy a fez hat and let him walk around doing his best Tommy Cooper.

      • Sixer says:

        Oh! Hinge and Bracket! Genius!

        For Bill and Idris, I suppose we’d have to resurrect Til Death Us Do Part or Rising Damp. Unless we go with colour blind (and gender blind) casting and they’re the Liver Birds?

        My list of 70s campishness is running out now…

        ETA: I can see Bill doing Tommy Cooper.

        ETA again: Oh! What about Porridge? We could get them all in there.

      • T.Fanty says:

        I would like to see Idris do Open All Hours. It’s a bit against type, but I think he could knock it out the park.

        (plus, I also ran out of ideas. It was that or Some Mothers Do ‘Ave Em)

        ooo! Porridge! I love it. Although Hardy will be offended if you don’t include him in that.

        ETA: The best part about Bill doing Tommy Cooper is how deadpan he would be. It would be Tommy Cooper with a touch of serial killer.

        ETA: Scratch all of that. Idris is going to be Cupid Stunt.

      • Sixer says:

        OMG OMG OMFG (and other assorted interwebz acronyms)

        Cupid Stunt! That’s the best one yet. But Tommy’s got the legs for it.

        The Bloke for Lenny Godber in Porridge. But if he has to go drag, I think he’d do a good Julian Clary in his Joan Collins Fan Club days. S/he had a dog. The Bloke likes dogs. Or is that too meta?

        In Sixer Hall’s Dad’s Army, Benny the Bouncer is Captain Mainwaring and Tommy is the nephew. What was his name? I don’t remember. Bill Nighy is the long-suffering sergeant. Idris would have to guest as a visiting American GI or somesuch?

      • Vesta says:

        70s campishness is needed? I want a movie in Rush style, but this time with the great tennis rivalry of John McEnroe vs. Björn Borg.
        The resemblance is already eerie – Benny is naturally the tantrum & racket throwing JohnnyMac and Hiddles is the “Iceman” Borg who shows no emotion – Tommy gets to act only with his eyes!
        Ultra short 70s style tennis shorts for both boys.
        (sorry for interrupting your convo…)

      • t.fanty says:

        Yes to all. But if we are going forward into the late 80s and 90s, I really want to nominate Cumby and Freeman for Raw Sex.

        I also think Bloke and Cumby might do a nice Bottom together (snigger). But it would have to be the Christmas Special, because that’s my favorite.

      • Make mine a double says:

        @Sixer, the nephew was called Pike aka Stupid Boy. And how about the Morcombe and Wise breakfast sketch to the stripper theme? Just some dancing and grapefruit slicing / squishing action going on…

      • Sixer says:

        @ Vesta

        Not interrupting. Like Escape To Victory but with tennis? I can see that. Idris for Nastase?

        @ Fanty

        Glorious. I suppose we could go Comic Strips Presents? With the Famous Five skit?

        @ mmad – Pike. How could I forget?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @sixer, I just knew you would find something for the bloke to do. Now, Mark Strong needs a role. He is looking a bit grim on the sidelines.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @Vesta, but who gets to be Jimmy Connors? And can Tatum O’Neil play herself?

        @Sixer, yes! Idris for Nastase.

      • T.Fanty says:

        I know nothing about tennis, so I volunteer Mark Strong to be the girl in the sexist 1970s tennis poster, scratching his bum. Maybe from the sidelines.

      • Sixer says:

        Mark Strong was such a good Nosferatu the other day I think we could extend the Carry On reboots to include Carry on Screaming and he can be Oddbod.

      • Sixer says:

        Mr Sixer Senior (who is here enjoying a cup of tea and looking at what I am typing in utter bewilderment) has just made the fatal mistake of reminding me about Carry on up the Khyber. Huzzah! The devils in skirts don’t wear anything under their kilts. Pfft to The Full Monty. Carry on up the Khyber is the show Sixer Hall wishes to put on. Ensemble cast, of course.

      • T.Fanty says:

        That works. Because Carry on Screaming is PERFECT and doesn’t ever EVER EVER need a remake. EVERRRRRRRR. Even with our stupendous cast (that said, hearing TommyAnne scream “frying tonight!” might be something for my bucket list).

      • Sixer says:

        Ok. Carry On up the Khyber it is. I’m always going to go for the no-knickers option.

        Which is the Carry On where Barbara Windsor has the photographic memory and clicks when she winks? That’s you, that is.

        (I think Mr Sixer Senior has just concluded that the interwebz is more of a threat to decency than even his Luddite self had credited).

      • Lilacflowers says:

        A front row seat for every showing of Carry on up the Khyber, please.

      • T.Fanty says:

        Heh heh! I can’t remember which one that is! Sadly, that might disqualify me from Babs’ glory.

        On a somewhat related note, I made Miss Jane watch Carry on Cleo a couple of weeks ago, and to our joy, we discovered that Cumby’s mum is in it. Wanda tries to buy Jim Dale at the slave auction.

      • Sixer says:

        It was a sign. The Sixer Hall season was meant to be. How is Miss Jane?

      • Janeite says:

        T.Fanty and Sixer-
        What is this Carry On to which you refer? I’m lost.

      • Sixer says:

        @ Janeite – a series of comedy films. There were many of them.

        Here is Kenneth Williams delivering the line from Fanty’s bucket list:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY0oM0FwGUo

        And for good measure, here are the devils in skirts:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-3dqb1izAo

      • icerose says:

        @Janeite The Carry On films were a series of populist formulaic comedy films from the 60’s + with very British humour and an acquired taste. When I came to the UK in the seventies to study drama they were put forward as an example of the worst kind of film making and poor acting. The Brits have always loved their camp characters and Kenny was one of the most popular. I tend to find then pretty tedious. I was trying to find an America in equivalent but they are uniquely British.
        As with most thing over the years they have acquired a nostalgic respectability.

      • icerose says:

        Best of the 70’s shows with just a touch of camp was the Professionals with Doyle and Bodie as 70’s early 80’s styled sexy slightly OTT MI5 agents. Brooding Benny and curly headed idealistic Tom are the perfect fit.

      • joe spider says:

        @ icerose. I’m not sure that Martin Shaw (Doyle) who takes himself very seriously these days would take kindly to having The Professionals likened to a Carry On film. 😀

      • Sixer says:

        Gah. You see, Fanty? These pesky Americans lack the camp appreciation gene. You try and jazz up a thread with a bit of glorious camp and even icerose pours cold water with her mizzogging. I’m going to watch last night’s Sky Atlantic offering of God Save the Queens to bathe in camp for another hour.

        Expect all my posts today to be in Polari, a la Julian and Sandy. Bona, bona, bona.

        (Still love you, icerose).

        PS: Ha! In the opening five minutes, there’s a clip from Carry On Cleo!

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @Sixer, it may be due to my English grandparents,, but this American appreciates camp. Carry on snarking!

      • icerose says:

        @joe spider there is Camp with a big C and camp with a subtle c and it was Martin Shaw taking it so seriously that gave it the small c. Having said that Doyle was my favourite-it was all those 70’s curls.I even married an actor with seventies curls .The foibles of youth.

        @sixer I did try to watch a few Carry On films but suffered at the hands of my fellow thespians who banned me from the common room. Being a lowly immigrant at the time who pronounced Iago with a long A and thought Lloyds bank was named after The Tale of Two Cities I was unable to cast aspersions on their superiority, I was however allowed to watch the odd episode of Up Pompeii as long as I did not laugh.

      • Sixer says:

        @lilac – you’re a genetic throwback to the old country! Huzzah! Because camp is everything!

        @icerose – the Carry Ons et al are parsed differently in academia today. You’ll see a more mature view of the pre- and post-Wolfenden cultural mores. Such things were understandably heretical to the pink power movement in the 70s and academia felt pretty much the same. Today, we notice the way the camp characters satirised sexist tropes by being the ones who ogled the girls and how a public was given sight of a hitherto underground culture and lifestyle. But mostly, we can just see that it’s FUNNY.

      • Sighs says:

        Alright, so I youtubed some Carry On just to see what all the fuss is about. They seem to me like a combo of Chevy Chase & Leslie Nielsen movies with a bit of Police Academy thrown in. I love camp. It’s fun. Which, I gather, is the goal.

      • icerose says:

        @Sixer As I said they have reached a nostalgic respectability which includes their new improved position in academia. What goes around comes around again at some point, And older actresses like Barbara Windsor/Kenneth Williams have their careers re evaluated. I would love too time travel 50 yrs and see how Tom and Benny’s career has been evaluated over the years and whether Sherlock goes through a period of negative appraisal only to be reborn again in the 2090.Even my lovely lycra filled Blakes 7 has now reached a level of appreciation it lost for a period and that was delightfully camp.

    • Miss Jupitero says:

      I don’t know who Williams is, but I fully support the idea of more and more camp to the point of explosion. We’ll be scraping him off the windows for years to come.

  5. Abbott says:

    I’m soooo doing some Ford Taurus sexy speeding in my company parking garage today! Vrrrooooom! Loki-styles!

  6. Primose Path says:

    I agree with the Advertising Standards Authority that this ad is extremely dangerous, just not for any of the reasons cited above. I personally suffered terrible injuries when I slid off my chair after watching it.

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

      Hahaha Yes I agree, for those reasons only though… 🙂

    • maybeiamcrazy says:

      Hahaha! Too many orgasms are as dangerous as speeding in garage if not more.

    • HAAAA! Well-played Primrose.

    • PunkyMomma says:

      Ha ha! The ad needs a disclaimer – “Viewing this advertisement may be hazardous to one’s health. If you suffer from elevated heart rates, excessive libido urges, please consult your physician prior to viewing.”

      • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

        @PunkyMomma

        Yes, it had the wrong disclaimer on it!!

      • Leah says:

        Husband was quite pleased this news came out of the banning which led to me watching it again which led to husband getting a good polishing. If you know what I mean. And I think you do. He is writing the watchdog agency a thanks note!

    • Lilacflowers says:

      As I posted before, he killed me with “firstly.” My ghost is typing this.

      • Primose Path says:

        Ah, that moment for me is the description of the little switch that changes everything. Peripheral vision disappears. Face goes numb. Internal organs liquefy. And whatever portion of my soul was left in my body after that jaw flex at :45 ceases to exist.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Deaths all around. This ad is just too dangerous and must be banned. How did the ad council even make it alive to see the car go up the ramp? The bespoke suit slays all.

      • SallyJay says:

        Mine too. And it wants to sleep with him.

      • Abby_J says:

        He had me at just appearing on the screen. Such a lovely commercial.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        @Sallyjae, your ghost may want to sleep with him; mine has other, more vigorous, activities in mind.

      • jammypants says:

        ready those windshield wipes!

    • Vesta says:

      Hehe! There should definitely be a “slippery road” warning sign too.

    • Lee says:

      All of this – beginning with Primrose – just made my morning:-)))

    • I Choose Me says:

      This entire thread is both hilarious and apt.

    • Innie Outie says:

      Hahaha, ladies, I SO needed this laugh after an exhausting day 😀

      P.S. This is Intro Outro speaking, just in case.

  7. It’s a JAGUAR commercial…it is supposed to be sexy and fast…which, incidentally, it is not. Fast, that is. Sexy….oh heeelllll yes.

    If they wanted it less sexy and fast, they could have hired Keith Lemon to do the driving. He would have done a responsible 15mph up the ramp and stalled a few timtes…what with that bandaged hand and all.

    Seriously, we have completely become a society of artistically neutered individuals the day a tongue-in-cheek Jag commercial starring one of Britains most successful, talented, and yes… sexy young actors is banned because the concept of speed was alluded to by the sound of a souped-up engine. ALL powerful cars sound like that when you accelerate. Sheesh.

    But they will get even more publicity out of the pearl-clutching, and I say, well-played Jag. That ad made me want to don my leather catsuit and join him in his murderous quest for world domination.

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

      I couldn’t agree more with your post Highland Fashionista!!

      And to be honest, I don’t think the watchdog is to blame here… I think who complained in the first place should be sent around in a Ferrari at 200 m/h.. See what speed is lol
      As for sexy, I would like to be a passenger in Tom’s car.. well the villain Tom in the ad, of course 😉

    • Lilacflowers says:

      You donned your catsuit? That ad made me tear mine off.

    • Isadora says:

      Additionally to the above mentioned dangers this ad convinced me too that I should dispose of my “business associates” and strive for world domination. However I will ensure that I do so while staying strictly within speed limits. Don’t want a ticket or something.

      Really, the whole thing is just so absurd, I don’t even know where to begin. But yeah, I guess good for Jaguar and good for bad boy Hiddles. And in the end I’m not even British, so I can keep watching this highly dangerous thing in my rogue state. *clicking replay*

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Careful not to rev the engine too much. You wouldn’t want to get a citation for disturbing the peace.

  8. Stephanie says:

    When he tears up at the Shakespeare, the car, the Englishness… I love it!

    • fairyvexed says:

      Well, what really got Tumblr going was the suggestive way he fingered that little switch. I’m surprised the UK blah blah council didn’t make a big too-do about salacious distractions….

    • Janeite says:

      I had forgotten about how he tears up during the Shakespeare reading. I need to re-watch the ad.

  9. OhDear says:

    I get that the UK Ad Council has strict rules and such, but I’m laughing at the fact that “oh, the fact that it’s strongly implied that he committed a crime is ok, but God forbid that he speeds!”

    (Thought the ad was cheesy, though)
    (runs away)

    • Lady Macbeth (Hiddles F.) says:

      LOL yes, like it’s normal to have dead people in the boot of a car and being paid for it, but oh my God, don’t speed…

      • fairyvexed says:

        Ah. YOu must have attended a family re-union or two with MY family. After three versions of potato salad, it’d be amazing if somebody WEREN’T threatened with the boot of the damned car. Ahem. Sorry.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Or rev your engine.

    • Olenna says:

      “(Thought the ad was cheesy, though)
      (runs away) ”

      ITA.
      …and I’m right behind you!

    • Because it’s easier to tackle stuff like speeding. Murder…that’s waaaay to distasteful. We’ll just pretend that it was never uttered.

    • icerose says:

      my thoughts to -you could probably have Benny and Tom making out in the back seat with Mark Strong as a peeping chauffer and they would still complain about the speed

  10. Lilacflowers says:

    The “brace yourself” line was about the car? And here I was bracing myself for all the wrong reasons.

    • feebee says:

      He had me at “Now brace yourselves” for all the right reasons also. Probably because he piqued my interest with the little switch that changes everything.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        By the “brace yourself”, I was throwing pieces of the bespoke suit out the window. They should have been concerned about the danger of driving while your shirt is being pulled over your face or the danger to other drivers of flying clothing hitting the windshield.

      • feebee says:

        LOL. Quite!

    • Exactly. I thought that he was warning me that my underpants were about to come flying off…

      • Lilacflowers says:

        My underpants were long gone. They departed, along with my soul, at “firstly,” To me, “brace yourself” was a warning that physical invasion was imminent.

      • Janeite says:

        This thread is fast becoming NSFW. 😉

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Since I’m now bracing for car travel, I suppose I should return to an upright, ladylike position from my previous braced position. Just as soon as I extract my right foot from the glove box and untangle my left leg from the back of his seat. Thomas, duck, dear. I don’t want to kick you.

  11. feebee says:

    This ruling is pretty ridiculous. How is it different from any TV show that shows driving at high speed? Granted they are tasked with policing advertisements only but still.

    Though it was sparked by a consumer complaint. How sad must that person be? Not boo-boo sad. Like, “Really?” of all the crappy actual borderline ads out there, this one upsets you enough to officially complain… I can’t imagine the knicker twisting if something like a Carls Jr ad was broadcast.

  12. M.A.F. says:

    Is this the same group that will ban any (mostly women) ads if they think the person is too Photoshop? If so, then this isn’t surprising. This ad must be on the TV a lot then for them to want to see it pulled.

    • Apparently we are no longer allowed even one iota of fantasy in advertising any more. Whether it be a photoshopped bustline or an allusion to the antics of an unfairly sexy Evil Overlord. If we keep going this way, the only thing left on TV will be Coronation Street (rough people screaming at each other….which many of us can see by walking outside or going to work).

  13. Lilacflowers says:

    I’m guessing these people have never seen an ad for a James Bond film.

    • MissMary says:

      Or movies like Grease or Fast and Furious…

      • joe spider says:

        Or Bullit

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Or The Town or Thelma & Louise.

      • Isadora says:

        Come on. Even in Twilight they drive too fast lol.

      • Innie Outie says:

        Oohh *suddenly excited* Shouldn’t they ban Transformers: Age of Extinction then?? Surely utter SH*TE that’s being done to all kinds of vehicles in that, erm, “film” is above and beyond anything a reasonable car user is expected to do to his/her car!

    • icerose says:

      @LilacFlowers James Bond is a national icon -you cannot criticise national icons or national treasures.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        I thought Shakespeare was an English national icon too but they just banned him in this commercial.

      • icerose says:

        They were probably to busy trying to time the speed of the car to notice the Shakespearian quotes.

  14. Altariel says:

    The driver side is on the left. Just noticed. Are they worried about Americans speeding too? Or they really concerned about the well-being of British and American women alike, because they know what we’re really thinking about doing with Tom in that car 😉

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Then they clearly haven’t seen any American truck commercials in which the vehicle travels at high speed, off-road, uphill, along the side of a cliff.

      And if they really were concerned about my safety, I was dead before it finished my first viewing months ago

  15. joe spider says:

    And they call us nannies!

    Well, over here in England the ruling has met with universal ridicule and people are asking which other car company the ONE complainant worked for.

    Also as the advert was designed basically for the US market it will still get shown over there. It’s only the youtube ad that has been pulled. Personally I’m more surprised someone from Elf and Safety didn’t complain that Tom had to lean out of the helicopter without a seatbelt on.

    Meanwhile Jaguar are laughing all the way to the bank. 🙂

    • Janeite says:

      I’ve only seen it here on TV a couple of times. Seems weird that they would only pull the ad on YouTube. Did it air much on UK television?

    • Abby_J says:

      I haven’t seen that ad here, just on YouTube. I have seen the one from the Super Bowl, with Tommy in the helicopter a few times, but mostly on BBC America.

    • Sixer says:

      I haven’t noticed the Tommy ad when fast-forwarding the commercial breaks for the shows I’ve recorded – so it hasn’t aired around any drama programming. The Michael Pitt BMW ad, on the other hand, seems to be on every single break.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      I’m guessing Porsche, but that might be too obvious.

    • Altariel says:

      It’s amazing how often ONE person complaining can ruin everything.

      Wonder if it could also have been a spurned fangirl (or boy). Ahem, we’ve all seen the venom spewed at him from certain folks who love nothing but to see him torn down. Ok, I know, the pissed-off-fan angle is a stretch, lol.

      And I want a Jag now. Badly. I’m sure others do now too.

      I don’t think the Jag was driving that fast in the ad. I think it was made to look like it was, through trick filming or something. So it’s hardly speed that I see being encouraged, but rather how cool and chic it is to be a villain! But that’s all besides the point, really. The ruling is dumb and onerous. And false.

  16. Madpoe says:

    I couldn’t afford a Jag in this life. Watching my fave Aquarius be devilishly delish for 60 seconds isn’t inspiring me to buy one or drive recklessly.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      It is inspiring me to act recklessly but not to drive recklessly.

      • Abby_J says:

        Let me get Tom’s run in for the day first, Lilacflowers. November will be here before we know it. That half marathon isn’t just going to run itself. 🙂

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Have a good run, Abby J! I’ll have Colin prepare some lemonade for your return. JLM is entertaining himself by watching old Carry On films on his iPad out on the porch.

  17. joe spider says:

    @ Sixer “In Sixer Hall’s Dad’s Army, Benny the Bouncer is Captain Mainwaring and Tommy is the nephew. What was his name? I don’t remember”

    Don’t tell him your name Pike.

  18. joe spider says:

    I want to know why Tom has got his hands clasped just there in the pic.

    I have my own ideas of course. 😉

  19. Ellen says:

    I bet you anything that Sean bean in the boot complained because he wasn’t included in the advert.

    On the plus side super sexy mark strong ads haven’t been banned

    • icerose says:

      Ellen you hit the nail on the head-poor Sean was seeking revenge because the scene where his lifeless designer suited body is placed in the boot cut by Jaguar who deemed AN unnecessary component of the advert

      • Lilacflowers says:

        We all have been neglecting poor Sean as late and his Jupiter Ascending film got pushed back from a July release to February.

  20. Innie Outie says:

    GDT’s latest interview on Crimson Peak http://collider.com/guillermo-del-toro-crimson-peak-interview/

    Dammit, it’s TOO EARLY (and cruel) to make us so excited! But it’s a very interesting read.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Great. Now I’m dying to see the house.

      • Innie Outie says:

        Del Toro: I think they (fangirls) will like him no matter what he does. [Laughs] My daughters could see him grinding puppies, they’d be like, “Oh, he’s so sweet! He grinds them so carefully.”

      • Isadora says:

        @Innie: 😀 Love that part! And also where he says that they said “in!” when he mentioned Tom Hiddleston for the role. *g*

      • Altariel says:

        Awww, he’s so sweet! Those girls are as sharp as their dad! Yep, our Tom has that unique distinction: we his fans can always find good in all his bad. He MUST be a god!

    • Camil says:

      Crimson Peak will be fantastic. I’m curious about Lucille and Thomas because, based on Del Toro’s answers, they are tragic figures (and I want to see young Thomas and young Lucille with their victorian clothes). Besides, they wrote different scripts (the leaked one doesn’t count anymore xD.

      Great hiddlesnews!

      • Lilacflowers says:

        And tragic figures means they aren’t necessarily evil all the way through, although he does describe Lucille as the antagonist. So, she could be more evil than others.

      • jammypants says:

        There’s also guilt. I wonder who’s guilty and has something to hide. More than likely Sir Thomas Sharpe.

      • icerose says:

        I think the synopsis is still very much the same -I read a leaked summary and it sounded intriguing.

      • icerose says:

        Tom is playing a character with daddy issues-how unusual

    • Gingerly says:

      I haven’t read the entire article, and I may not read any long interview before I watch the film. But from what I quickly read about Tom, it seems that Del Toro greatly enjoys Tom’s collaboration.

      Why Fall 2015… I can understand that Del Toro and producers may want to show the film in some major film festival such as Cannes or TIFF. Yet, 15 months are too long.

      • Lilacflowers says:

        The producers want a Halloween release and because some special effects have to be added, GDT couldn’t have it ready by this Halloween.

      • Ava says:

        Oh please……enough with the quotes from that blog…..

      • Lilacflowers says:

        We’re talking about GDT’s interview with Collider, not a blog.

    • Isadora says:

      There were discussions about the (leaked) script and plot details and there were concerns about the story and such, but this is great:
      “But then you have to rewrite for the actors. And what we did is we have a very … once I gave them the biographies, we had a table work session where we read the screenplay, talked about the biography, listen to him read the part, come back, rewrite, send it back, get their voice in, and you rewrite it for them.”
      Good news! Because I totally believe that Tom can make a script better – remember that some of the best Loki lines were his.

      But the interview also shows what a crazy past year this has been for him – Coriolanus every night on stage (and staying in shape for the whole run), learning lines for Crimson Peak, rehearsals with Jessica and GDT, working on the character biography, preparation for the Jaguar ad… Wow. Suddenly my workload seems very very nice.

      • icerose says:

        I wonder id Crimson Peak and Coriolanus bled into each other,. Coriolanus was brilliant move on Tom’s part-I just hope he is back on stage again soon.
        On a side note I saw Freeman in Richard 111 tonight, A little bit of Fargo meets the bard. I loved the girl siting in the front wrapped in plastic and no she was not one of the cast and the lady in white trousers spattered with blood who was not quite sure whether to laugh or cry

      • icerose says:

        I thought the interesting bit was how Tom embraced the perversion and the humane?? within the script.

      • joe spider says:

        icerose, what did you think of the production and acting in Richard III. It seems to have got very mixed reviews.

      • M.A.F. says:

        They give you plastic to cover yourself because blood gets into the audience?! AHHH, I want to go!

      • icerose says:

        @joe spider
        Martin Freeman acquitted himself quite well and handled the text and the humour with skill. But for me It was Jo Stone-Fewings as Buckingham who rose above the production. The adaption was interesting but the staging was inconsistent and lacked cohesiveness, It also lacked a depth of passion and some of the character interaction felt flat. Most noticeable were the scenes between Richard and King Edward’s widow. But I have been spoilt by seeing Mark Rylence and Samuel Barnet battle it out on stage.
        It was substantially cut with less text and a more visual approach. I did not agree with some of the more vicious reviews but it was not as good as some critics have implied. My preference is for more intimate productions which take chances with the staging and interpretation so on that level it was good but overall it just missed the mark.
        It will be interesting to see the Hollow Crown version as that will also be substantially cut but I am guessing it will be period setting.

      • icerose says:

        @M.A.F I do not think it was the theatre handing out plastic just someone who was determined to wear her fan girling clothes at all costs but I could be wrong.One of the reviews warned people sitting in the front three rows to wear old clothes.I do not know if they were even warning people because I was in row 4 just out of range.
        It is when an artery in the neck is cut and you get this lovely spurt of blood and they seem to have trouble mastering the direction.

    • icerose says:

      that is a brilliant article/interview. My delayed gratification mode is just not working with this film

      • joe spider says:

        @ icerose.

        Thanks for your review of RIII , I appreciate you taking the trouble.

        Yes, when they come to do the Henry Vi and Richard III on tv they will no doubt have to cut as they did with the Henry V 2 years go – to the annoyance of quite a few people. I’m really looking forward to them.

      • icerose says:

        @joe spider I think with film it is easier to substitute in more realistic scenes etc so you may not notice the cutting as much. They have filled this with on stage death scenes and other bits of action which did not always come off.
        The Hollow Crown moved bits from Henry IV part 1 into Henry V part 2 and vice versa.Trouble is I have watched it so much that when talking with friends about Anthony Cher in the same plays I was completely muddled about what came where,

    • Gingerly says:

      I have been wondering two things since I read the old synopsis.

      1) What th director would like to do with the cultural/historical background (US/Uk around the turn of the century) – both Pan’s Labyrinth and the Devil’s Backbone are stoties about the Spanish Civil War. I keep wondering whether Del Toro can create a great drama, working with the genre of the (British) Gothic Romance.

      2) adult sexuality or pervereity. The protagonists of PL and DB are kids who sacrifice themselves or redeem others although there were important adult characters. I am curious how Del Toro approach his new subject.

      Actually I did not worry about cliches very much. Del Toro might have needed cliches or common stereotypes in order to subvert various genre conventions. Whether he innovatively uses the Gothic Romance cliches in CP can be judged in 2015 whe critics watch the film in film festivals.

      Sorry for a long post. Loved, loved PL and DB, and just cannot help but babble. I hope that someday CP will be released as a criterion collection.

      • icerose says:

        @Gingerly you make some good points. There is a fine line between re hashing tropes and clichés and subverting a genre. I think JJ did a brilliant job on OLLA but as with anything the success can only be judged when we see the production in it’s entirety.
        I think he has a strong cast which will helps and GDT visuals have always been stunning so to some degree I have faith that at worst it will be okay and at best another PL.I think what will help is that he has brought his own understanding of family,humanity and perverseness to the film and it is not just another horror film. I was really intrigued about what was said about the parents being the underlying antagonists within the story.
        And Tom gets to play another character with daddy issues.

  21. Lilacflowers says:

    I really can’t find any thing in the commercial that screams “drive recklessly!” to me. So, I’m going to have to watch it another 3 dozen times today. I’m doing this as a public service.

    • icerose says:

      could you put a complaint in for me when you are finished-something about to much car porn and fiddling should cover it

  22. Lilacflowers says:

    As usual, Lego Loki is on top of things: https://twitter.com/Loki_Lego

  23. jammypants says:

    so the complainant? any guesses? Porsche? bitter ex-fangirl? Sean Bean in the boot?

    • Lilacflowers says:

      Benedict Cumberbatch.

      • jammypants says:

        Benny? Nah, he’s too busy racing his Jag down a gravel lane out in the countryside with Tommy. Winner gets to sleep in the manor’s master bedroom on the king size bed. Loser has to provide foot massages as he’s fed fresh strawberries from the other’s secret gf/fwb.

      • Innie Outie says:

        HAHAHAAA 😀 @Lilac, you almost single-handedly made this whole post, and as it’s been a long time since we’ve had such a good-natured Tommy post, it’s even more welcome ^_^

        Re: Benny the complainant: maybe the GPS tracking device aka The Boston Anklet works not only as a transmitter, but also as a receiver, and Benny’s been receiving online updates from his Cumbercollective which, among pieces of advice on where to eat the best cannoli, complained that Hiddlestoners are high-jacking his threads and posts?

      • Lilacflowers says:

        Thanks, Intro, I had lots of time to kill yesterday while waiting for cable repair and my mind just wanted to be in that car. And the repaired cable is down again this morning.

  24. 'p'enny says:

    well my Hiddlebabes it’s been a funny o’l week in our world, Loki gets a sister, Thorita, Hiddles gets another round of embarrassing fan behaviour to hit the internet-press, a supporting actress who thinks she’s a gift to promoting hiddlesteria, a FWB starts a new twitter feed, and the best advert since Andrex puppy get’s banned all because Sean Bean in the boot was kept in there too long, I did warn you Lilacflowers, SecretSquirrel, Intro, Isadora, etc… He got out and now its revenge time.

    I can’t help to wonder how the week is going to end.

    Luke Evans tweets he has fallen in love with Tom? and challenges Benny to a dual? in Ben Wheatley fashion?

    or Loki at Comic -Con has been recast and Cheryl Cole will now take the lead and be a judge on x-factor to boost viewing figures.

    • Lilacflowers says:

      We were letting Sean out of the boot to play. He’s just upset that Jupiter Ascending got pushed to February because Mila’s woodland acting and Eddie Restnayne’s bad makeup didn’t go over well in the trailers. Are they really calling that character Thorita? Not very Old Norse, is it?
      Next week, Sienna Miller arrives. Brace yourselves.

  25. Ellen says:

    I’ve just saw a photo of Hiddles wearing a suit on set of High-Rise. Does this mean he is filming the beginning at the moment? Anyone know?