Of course, but its still interesting that certain groups & organisations
want to be so closely associated with Lord of the Rings. The car manufacturer for instance. Did the advertising company know anything about Tolkien's hatred for the '
infernal combustion engine'? If they did, & if their clients did, were they ignoring that fact or trying to subvert the work? Clearly they wanted to make a connection between their product - an suv, designed for off road use, providing easy access to the countryside - & a movie which is set in 'the great outdoors'. Yet their product in particular, which brings said 'I.C.E.' into the heart of the countryside would have been Tolkien's worst nightmare. He would probably have described the drivers of such vehicles as 'orcs'.
Of course, seeing Black Riders approaching & proving to be friendly with the driver of such a vehicle could be seen as subverting the company & its products.
So, we have neo-Nazi groups, the gun lobby, motor manufacturers, fundamentalist Christians, environmentalists, pagans, the makers of fast food et al, all wanting to claim Tolkien & his works as their own. But how many of them have understood Tolkien's message & his underlying philosophy?
Another question that occurs to me is how all these 'claims' affect the public's understanding of Tolkien's work. How many people will turn to these products/philosophies
because of their love of LotR (books or movies) & how many people will be turned
off these products for similar reasons? Will there be movie/book fans who go out & buy a Kia Sorrento (or an uzi
)because they see that ad or read that web page? Will there be fans who boycott the products because of what they know about Tolkien's feelings?