The advertisement, part of the company's "It's good to be bad" campaign, is entitled "The Art of Villainy" and promoted the Jaguar F-type coupe. In the video, Hiddleston explains what makes a great villain, quotes William Shakespeare's Richard II and drives away at high speeds.

In the opening of the video, a voiceover reciting Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1 plays:

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, 

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, 

This other Eden, demi-paradise, 

This fortress built by Nature for herself 

Against infection and the hand of war

Hiddleston continues the speech later on in the video:

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Against the envy of less happier lands,

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. Britain's Advertising Standards Authority said, "We considered that the second part of the ad suggested that the car was being driven at excessive speeds and that the ad therefore encouraged irresponsible driving." As a result, "the ad must not appear again in its current form."

Hiddleston won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his role in Cymbeline; he was also nominated for the same award the same year for his role of Cassio in Othello. His stage credits include The Changeling, Ivanov and The Children's Monologues. He has starred in "The Avengers," "Thor," "War Horse" and "Midnight in Paris."