Jaguar goes to dark side for rookie Super Bowl ad

Bad guys make for good marketing campaigns. That’s the thinking behind Jaguar’s plans for its rookie ad appearance in the Super Bowl.

The carmaker said Thursday that it will use a “British Villains” theme for its first-ever Big Game ad and the theme will continue in other upcoming commercials and social media marketing (hashtag #goodtobebad).

The Big Game ad will feature the new F-Type coupe, a teaser photo of which Jag released this week. The much-awaited coupe version of the F-Type sports car will get its global unveiling at an event ahead of the L.A. Auto Show on Nov. 19.

Film and TV director Tom Hooper — of Les Miserables and The King’s Speech fame — will film Jaguar’s 30-second ad for the Feb. 2 Super Bowl XLVIII.

A preview of the theme will show up in an earlier ad that starts airing Sunday on BBC America and in NFL games. The ad, with the XF-R performance sedan, portrays the brand as a disruptor in the luxury market — and offers the idea that all the best villains in Hollywood films are British.

The “Villains” Super Bowl ad will star British actors, but during a Thursday press conference on the ad plans, Jaguar executives wouldn’t reveal their names.