Jaguar Land Rover advert sparks peatland protest
Conservation group condemns Jaguar Land Rover TV spot for depicting off‑road driving through peat bog, prompting a clash over environmental messaging and UK filming locations.
A new television commercial from Jaguar Land Rover has ignited a dispute with the Cambrian Mountains Society, which alleges the advert depicts reckless driving through a Welsh peat bog.
Lorna Brazell, secretary of the society, posted that the advert shows an older Range Rover ploughing through a peatland before being hosed clean to reveal a gleaming electric model.
She warned that peat bogs are “ancient, delicate, and irreplaceable ecosystems”, protected under Welsh law and the focus of extensive restoration work across the UK.
According to Brazell, peatlands cover only 4 % of Wales’ land area yet store more than a quarter of the nation’s sequestered carbon, acting as a vital buffer against wildfires and flooding.
The society’s post criticised the advert for encouraging “pointless destruction of these vital assets” and highlighted that an electric Range Rover is nearly seven hundredweight heavier than its diesel predecessor, potentially causing greater environmental harm.
“The irony of off‑roading using an electric vehicle, nearly seven hundredweight heavier and more damaging than the diesel version, while no doubt imagining that this is somehow nature‑ or climate‑friendly, is enough to make anyone who really cares about our environment weep,” Brazell wrote.
She urged readers to sign a Senedd petition calling for a ban on future development on peatlands, linking to the petition at petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/247036.
Jaguar Land Rover responded that the location featured in the commercial was not in Wales, nor a peat bog or protected habitat.
The company’s spokesperson said filming took place at a controlled site outside the United Kingdom, with all necessary permissions secured and no protected habitats disturbed.
“We recognise how important peatlands and other sensitive ecosystems are,” the spokesperson added.
Andrea Debbane, Jaguar Land Rover’s sustainability director, reiterated the brand’s commitment to environmental goals on the firm’s website.
“Aligned to our Reimagine strategy, we aim to truly embed a sustainable mindset into the heart of JLR, driving workstreams and partnerships to enable the transformation of our business as we target carbon net zero across our supply chain, products, and operations by 2039,” Debbane wrote.
Brazell countered the company’s defence, arguing that broadcasting the advert in the UK without a disclaimer effectively encourages reckless off‑road behaviour.
“By showing the ad in the UK without any kind of disclaimer such as ‘do remember not to do this in the UK/Wales’ or ‘this vehicle is intended for use on suitable heavy‑duty tracks only’, they are responsible for the message it actually sends, which is ‘please buy one of these in the UK, you can have SO much fun off‑road!’” she said.
She stressed that protecting Wales’ peatlands is essential for future generations, noting that the country’s peat stores almost a third of its carbon.
“It’s not denying anyone the right to access our uplands; it is future‑proofing the next generations’ right to enjoy a beautiful, thriving Wales,” Brazell concluded.
The dispute highlights the tension between automotive marketing and environmental stewardship, with both parties invoking their respective commitments to sustainability.