Words Dept.: entry

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.

Spotted via Motortorque.