I graduated college during the year that the most beautiful car ever created was introduced: the Jaguar XKE. It was a sensuous display of mechanical beauty and defined the color British racing green along with the intoxicating smell of tan leather seats and interior trim.
The car looked like it was sculpted in a wind tunnel, adorned with gauges and a stick shift that dignified that style of driving. It was not about how fast the car could go, but how good it could look even standing still. There was a reason it would be displayed in the Gugenheim Museum of Modern Art as the definition of automotive art.
Yes, the ignition was twitchy and unreliable, and you really needed a fulltime mechanic in your family if you owned one. Yes, you could get a hard top or even the 2+2 configuration to tote your small kids in the back seats. But, no … there was no other car on the road that defined the ultimate in raw sensuality … if a car can be defined that way.
Over the years, I have hoped that Jaguar would bring that car back along with modern technologies to make it reliable. I know there are electric versions of that XKE but I am not eager to hand out over $300,000 for one. Back when I graduated from college you could buy an XKE for about 2/3rd the starting salary of an engineer … about $5,000.
Today’s Jaguar line is good looking, and somewhat distinct. I do understand that modern brand management leaders are looking to find a differentiation, much like BMW did with their slogan “the ultimate driving experience” or Lexus’ “relentless pursuit of perfection.”
Somehow, in some dark room, a group of individuals crafted this for Jaguar:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jaguar-rebrand-is-pink-diverse-and-doesnt-feature-any-cars-904d2d12?st=LTNAQs&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
I can promise you they didn’t test this message against mainstream America. Perhaps they have identified their key demographic is somehow excited about this progressive abstract idea. It reminds me of the way the Infiniti car brand was introduced … without any pictures of cars. Here are those ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_a3fZVo12M Notice at least that the ads talked about it being a car. That ad didn’t work well then and doesn’t work now. People are visual. More so today than even then.
Cars are not commodities. They represent diverse perspectives, so yes, there are many brands that can be defined. Some will be utilitarian or even funky like the VW Beetle. Others will align with aspirations and personalities like the Corvette vs. the Mustang vs. the Dodge Charger, etc. Brand loyalties exist within each of these and make sense.
The rebranding ad from Jaguar just doesn’t do anything good, and it may be their ruination. As you watch the ad in the link below, look at the comment section below it to see the public’s reaction and compare that to Jaguar management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtFIrqhfng&t=1s
Here are just a few of the 29,000 comments when I watched the ad:
“Jaguar’s pronouns are Was/Were.” “As someone involved in the field of marketing and also from a consumer perspective this is one of the most embarrassing ads to study.” “This rebranding is going to be studied in marketing classes in colleges around the world for the next 50 years on how to instantly drive a prestigious brand directly into a wall at full speed.”
And, here are a few more:
“My Jag just lost 90% of its value.” “Who did this? The Paris Olympics opening ceremony creative team?” “102 Years Old Company… …Destroyed in 30 seconds.” “Jaguar is officially dead, they’ve been dying for like the last 10 years this just the nail in the coffin.” “This will go down as one of the worst marketing decisions in history.”
Now, some … a very few … have suggested this rebrand video was deliberately done to get Jaguar the attention to its new electric fleet with its edgy look. I hope for their sake they are right, but the timing of a woke approach right after one of the most dramatic election rebukes of these woke ideas seems deadly to me.
Stay tuned … we will see very shortly, won’t we? I personally believe everyone associated with this at Jaguar is about to be fired. Media outlets around the world are having a field day, all with utter condemnation.
I find that comforting. However, I really would like to see these new car designs. Hopefully, the damage done by this ad will not destroy the market for them.