By Chris Ward, June 7, 2024
Land Rover’s PR department, once told us to shove off with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. We call it being Dipplised. Their disdainful dismissal, dripping with passive-aggression and a desperate need to assert dominance, left a bitter taste in our mouths, reminding us of their true colors.
But in the fantasy realm of advertising, Land Rover plays a different tune. Here, they cosy up to the latest social trends like diversity, a sharp contrast to the reality we’ve faced. Yet, a glance at their PR team or board of directors blinds you, requiring sunglasses to shield your eyes from the glaring lack of diversity.
Their latest ad campaigns promote minorities, particularly British Asians and Afro-Caribbeans, who are seen as proud Land Rover owners. But behind this facade lies a sinister truth. Our own British Asian colleague was shown the door with a verbal middle finger, revealing Land Rover’s true colours.
For some time now, we’ve observed Land Rover’s feeble attempts at promoting diversity by using ‘human shields’, often featuring mixed-race families and children in their ads. Yet, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Their narrative crumbles under the weight of their own hypocrisy.
Their homogenous boardroom is reminiscent of the colonial-era East India Company, adorned with a couple of token females for optics.
This charade of diversity is nothing but a relic of a bygone era, a feeble attempt to mask Land Rover’s deep-seated prejudices and outdated ideologies. Land Rover’s facade of sophistication and culture crumbles under the weight of its glaring lack of diversity.
No matter how hard they try to fake it, their attempts are as hollow as their token gestures. Behind the glossy ads and pretentious branding lies a company entrenched in its own narrow-mindedness, forever unable to grasp the true essence of diversity.
No matter how hard Land Rover strives for sophistication, its inherent homogeneity exposes it for what it truly is: a relic of privilege and exclusion.
