British luxury automaker Jaguar unveiled its new brand identity. It, unfortunately, didn’t go well for the British automotive giant given the fact the campaign and rebranding efforts are extremely woke. This is a warning signal to those who want to follow this route.
Jaguar’s new campaign recently unveiled the brand’s new logo, a slogan known as “Copy Nothing” and a 30-second ad that did not show any of its cars. Just some models from various races dressed in pink, orange, and yellow.
The company vehemently defended its ad saying the models used avant-garde outfits in bright colors to highlight its message of artistic expression, modernism, and unconventional thinking.
The campaign’s purpose was to indicate Jaguar shifting to an all-electric vehicle lineup. However, this is also backfiring because EVs are no longer feasible and sustainable. For the public, it seemed like Jaguar was turning its back on its true heritage which made the company as robust as it is today.
We will now examine why Jaguar’s rebranding did not work at all.
Jaguar’s new brand identity
Professionals of logo design in Dubai have examined Jaguar’s recent 30-second ad. It caused massive blowback and got a massive amount of vitriol. Facebook, X, Instagram, and Threads among many others are riddled with comments that have bemoaned, ridiculed, criticized, overturned, scalped, and even heckled Jaguar’s rebranding campaign.
First of all, there is an evident lack of automobiles in the ad. It is not a car commercial but rather it contradicts its primary essence. According to the comments made, anyone who has no idea what Jaguar sells would never be able to comprehend what Jaguar actually stood for. Its overly simple new logo also didn’t do any favors.
Even Elon Musk commented if Jaguar sold cars or not. Many stated the ad was suitable for a fashion line, body care product (soap, shower gel) hair care product, or a brand that sold sanitary napkins and tampons. Of all the brands in the world, Jaguar had to make such an ad where it contradicted itself and even shot itself in the foot.
Another unfortunate fact to note is that the brand went woke through its visual identity as it featured diverse models and colors of the rainbow. Since this also did not fare well with the audiences targeted, it backfired for obvious reasons.
It’s not just people from conservative backgrounds criticizing the ad. Even those with open mindsets are worried. The phenomenon of diversity and inclusion has been overdone and overstated. This is not what people look for in luxury cars because luxury cars have a different market segment. Even the British Prime Minister’s car is made by Jaguar (the official state vehicle).
Such kind of an ad is only understandable for a make-up brand (providing more skin-tone options) or a clothing brand (that can also have more color options and more sizing options). However, this doesn’t work for cars. Fashion brands have often displayed such ads but automotive brands? Even Toyota wouldn’t dare contradict its primary essence in this regard.
People have always driven and used cars regardless of ethnicity, body structure, looks, sexual orientation, and other factors. Jaguar’s new ad could have been used for drinking water and bottled beverages. But using it for cars is actually unthinkable.
A lot of people bemoaned the hyper-modernization trend that is synonymous with going woke. Within the past four years, multiple businesses, brands, and companies took the woke trend and turned their backs on brand identity. Jaguar turned its back on its traditional posh British brand with fuel-powered engines and sporting automotive pedigree and luxurious caliber.
What Jaguar did was try to match with modern brands and cater to Generation Z and younger audiences. This is where it all went wrong. The trend of electric cars is not suiting everyone because Volkswagen is facing a massive decline in sales. Tesla’s cars are being declared as fundamentally flawed and everyone today is demanding a gas guzzler.
Jaguar’s New Logo isn’t any appealing either
The new logo of Jaguar also got its due share of criticism too. The company removed the iconic leaping Jaguar icon that has been its true symbol for decades. They are only using a simplistic wordmark which is a costly logo design cost cutting error.
The typography is overly simple as if a kindergarten kid did it. They reduced the former formal wordmark to something casual and ultramodern. The thick strong optima font is gone as it was used in capital letters to signify Jaguar’s name.
