The Jaguar rebrand, launched last week with the company’s new campaign video, is the talk of the PR and marketing world – and indeed much further afield. Why? Because Jaguar’s rebrand is totally off-brand. It could not be further from what you would think of the historic British car maker.
As is the way with a modern rebrand strategy, Jaguar deleted all of its Instagram posts and started afresh. Post one? The launch video. A cast of models wearing brightly-coloured clothes saunter out of a lift and stride forward against an luminous pink backdrop. Throughout the 30 second clip, there’s no reference to cars at all, just model poses accompanied by bold captions and its new logo: JaGUar.
The reception? Well, some of the most liked comments on the original post include:
On the next post, similar incredulity follows. One user remarks that “Their rebranding looks like they are gonna sell vapes”, while another comments “Jaguar is dead”.
The tagline of the campaign is “Copy Nothing”, a reference to the company’s founder Sir William Lyons’ assertion that “A Jaguar should be a copy of nothing” – some joke that it should “please copy something”. Each post is accompanied by a stream of, to put it lightly, unimpressed comments, epitomised by the “dislike button”. The diverse cast strutting their stuff in fluorescent colours has also given it the label of a “woke rebrand” – a point shrewdly discussed in Campaign by Bukky Ojeifo.
But there are also “unpopular opinions” who declare they are excited for the car launch set for 2 December in Miami. And this is the key barometer: how well it is received could make all the difference on the merits of the campaign strategy.
Why did Jaguar rebrand?
The campaign is part of Jaguar’s move to become an electric-only brand by 2026. And there is another side to this story that has escaped the furore on social media.
The most successful and iconic brands only need to tweak their image. They have products that work whatever the era – or are so dominant in the current one – that they don’t need to alter much. Other brands, however, have products suited to a particular period, meaning when trends change, they have to adapt fast or fall by the wayside.
Jaguar sales are stuttering and its core audience isn’t providing it with the revenue it needs. It knows it has to change tact. Crucially, the transition to electric vehicles is prompting many automotive companies to rebrand, and Jaguar feels it has to go all out in order to steal a lead in this market.
In many ways, it seems more like a stunt than a rebrand; but maybe that’s the point. Stunts are designed to spark a surge of awareness or interest in a brand at a given moment. Yet you can also stray so far away from your brand identity, in this case a 102-year history, that you lose the very essence of what got you to where you are in a flash.
The PR view: complete misstep or masterstroke?
There are two sides to the rebrand coin. On one side, Jaguar could’ve enacted a rebrand that held onto its vast history while still providing a modern look, adapting its image to resemble its evolving values and target audience. This would be the go-to approach. You can still do a total rebrand and maintain your core heritage and ethos.
Or, as it has done, it could throw something out there so different and bold that it sparks incredible debate and hope this brings eyeballs to its product launch. This motive is starting to be recognised as people take a step back and see the wider picture. All the incandescent ire, the endless comments and reels mocking its strategy, could resemble a short-term reaction to a potentially completely different long-term result.
On the face of it, the overriding reaction has been far from good – the complete opposite in fact. But it’s also undoubtedly the loudest response to a rebrand in recent memory. Every major national outlet has covered the story as well as celebrities and influencers from across the world. As the BBC article notes, Jaguar “wanted” such debate.
It’s a high-risk strategy. The success or failure of the campaign hinges on what comes next. But one thing’s for sure: there will be a very bright and expectant spotlight shining on its car launch in December, waiting for the covers to be pulled off to reveal its new showpiece.
As with most things in business, the product speaks for itself – getting attention on it is the challenge. Well, if anything, Jaguar has certainly got people talking.
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