The "Villain Academy" concept was an extension of the Jaguar Performance Driving Academy and aimed to teach consumers to drive like Hollywood Villains in the newest bad boy in town, the F-TYPE R Coupe, alongside stunt driver Ben Collins of "Top Gear" who has worked on movies like Skyfall and the Fast & the Furious series. As Jaguar brand enthusiasts, actor Sebastian Stan, who stars in the #1 movie in the country, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and actress Mena Suvari, were both among the first to experience the vehicle before it's available in retailer showrooms. Taking place at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, TX, the event took consumers through a series of professional driving instructions, including a relay autocross course, an acceleration "getaway" run, one-on-one coaching, lead-follow track laps and "Villain hot laps."
The Jaguar Performance Driving Academy offers a Level 1 half day and Level 2 and 3, full day driving curriculum program with professional drivers and substantial on-track time with the brand's high performance models - the XFR, XKR, XJR, and now, the F-TYPE R Coupe; allowing participants to satisfy their need for speed, learn more about Jaguar's performance models and sharpen their driving skills.
British brands Thomas Pink and Meridian had an integrated presence at the "Villain Academy" as part of a larger partnership with Jaguar. Thomas Pink hosted a pop-up style academy/tailoring workshop at the welcome reception event, where participants were professionally styled in a "Villain Look" and received complimentary custom shirts on behalf of Pink and Jaguar. Meridian, Jaguar's official sound system provider, co-produced consumer video content with Jaguar at COTA, which will be released on Jaguar's social channels in the near future.
Jaguar also hosted four winners of its social media contest for the "British Villains" campaign, held in early 2014, at the "Villain Academy." The contest was hosted on Jaguar's social media channels and challenged followers and fans to share their own winning "villain-style" songs, mentor, style and persuasion, all credited to the #GoodToBeBad campaign.
The "British Villains" campaign launched in November 2013 at www.BritishVillains.com and captures the premise that Brits have long made the best villains in landmark films, combining intelligence with charm, restlessness with calm and are always confident. As part of the campaign, Jaguar launched its first Big Game ad, "Rendezvous," generating nearly 12 million views to date. Jaguar's bespoke hashtag to support the ad, #GoodToBeBad, was the most used hashtag during the 2014 Big Game, among other accolades for the spot. Jaguar partnered with Gawker Media as the official media sponsor of the campaign, and they will be onsite filming content for Gawker and car enthusiast site Jalopnik.com, to be released in June. Jaguar will continue to update BritishVillains.com through July with information about the F-TYPE Coupe, the newest commercials and unique video content, which highlight the design and technological features of the vehicle.
The new all-aluminum F-TYPE Coupe, including the first F-TYPE R model, expands the Jaguar lineup beginning this month and starts at $65,001. Visit Tom Wood Jaguar Indianapolis for more information.