Since drivers of 4×4s tend to be regarded as braying, selfish, middle class dummies - their penchant for oversized cars that are much too big for the school run barely disguising an inherent bullying streak - I can’t think of a better way for Land Rover to lay this image to rest than by creating a viral advertising campaign in which a member of the working class is ritually humiliated by an England rugby player called Josh and a minor member of the royal family.
The subtext here - well, actually, it isn’t a subtext, it’s entirely spelt out - is that people who like football are spiky-haired gobby little oiks who deserve to be covered in piss and horse snot by those who favour “proper sports” like rugby union and three-day eventing.
In the latest advert (above), which was released this week on the website wesupporteventing.com, I can’t work out what the footballing bloke is supposed to have done wrong, other than be a little bit cheeky to “Her Royal Pin-up Zara Philips” (copyright Daily Mail) while expressing a mild ignorance towards equestrianism. Perhaps the reason the horse gets angry is because the miscreant doesn’t doff his top hat, shuffle up on his knees and address the 12th in line to the throne in suitably deferential terms.
The ultimate insult comes when the idiotically anthropormorphised horse concocts a condescending snort of laughter - literally a bray - of the type heard from Land Rover drivers when they drive the wrong way at speed down a one-way street and mow down a couple of seven year olds.
A previous advert shows the same footballing bloke getting his face rubbed in dog piss as sniggering Josh Lewsey looks on. All in all, an entirely confusing and self-defeating piece of marketing.
Following the successful launch of the exciting and dynamic television channel Dave, whose rapidly rising audience share is wholly reliant on endless Top Gear repeats, the bosses of UKTV are at it again.
Having signed the incredibly talented Richard and Judy (Alan Partridge and Lynn) to the network, they have decided the change the name of [...]
Another day, another Tory using an absurd racist phrase. This time it’s Lord Dixon Smith, who used the term “n— in the woodpile” in a debate about the Housing and Regeneration Bill in the House of Lords on Monday. The comment, and his apology, is recorded in Hansard.
Looking at the Hansard excerpt, I noticed something [...]
I can’t work out whether Christopher Hitchens‘ decision to undergo waterboarding for a piece in Vanity Fair is (a) brave and vital or (b) self-serving and pointless.
On the whole, I’m not sure the sight of Hitchens flailing around with dribble down his front adds any level of enlightenment to the “debate” about this method of [...]
Now I wasn’t there and so I probably have no right to comment on the subject. But isn’t the purpose of a blog to prattle amateurishly about subjects one has no right to prattle amateurishly about? Well, exactly.
To this end, I feel I must take issue with renowned man of letters Gordon Smart and his [...]
Look, it’s Sky News’ most fragrant anchorwoman, Kay Burley (aka the Wigan Strangler), throttling a PA photographer. This all happened last week outside the Magistrates’ court where Naomi Campbell was appearing but has become a talking point among columnists over the weekend. The Daily Mail has pictures.
All of which raises the important question: Is Kay Burley a psychopath? Think about [...]
The Daily Mail apparently wants to charge freelance journalists to write for its newspapers. Yes, that’s right: the Mail thinks freelancers should pay £175 in order to be added to a list that will permit them to supply work. After that, a simple brown envelope containing £120 will suffice each year thereafter in order for the freelancer to remain on “the list”.
This comes from a [...]
David Cameron is such a man of the people. The Sunday Times reports that earlier this week
the Conservative leader hosted a champagne and lychee juice reception for City donors in the back garden of his North Kensington home.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? If Dave ever becomes PM, we can presumably expect pomegranate juice cocktails and [...]
Coldplay have started dressing like extras from Les Miserables. I saw them on Jonathan Ross last night; they were wearing vaguely military garb and seemed to have bits of flag tied around their arms. At least one of them was wearing a stupid hat.
I suppose it ties in with the artwork for their new album, [...]
This blog, built and written by my own hands with only occasional assistance from my brain, was exactly one year old yesterday. It’s been a rollercoaster ride of pure emotion, I’m sure you’ll agree!
During that time, I have steadily built the readership of the blog from a mere fourteen to a massive fifteen readers, including [...]
