If you’re looking for a masterclass on how to destroy an iconic brand, Jaguar’s big rebranding splash is it. If you’re a marketer and have been paying attention, you couldn’t have missed it. Splash is indeed the word that comes to mind after witnessing their new, vibrantly colorful promo. It could easily pass off as a DEI promotional. Actually, many people may have mistaken it for one.
Now, I don’t have anything against DEI, but this is Jaguar we’re talking about—the iconic brand built on V-8 engines and F-type muscle cars. The Jaguar logo on the bonnet symbolized the buyer’s ambition to leap forward, mirroring the brand’s own aspirations.
Carl Pei, founder of the smartphone company Nothing, wrote on X: “Brands with a rich heritage should celebrate and lift that heritage, instead of throwing it away.”
Even Elon Musk couldn’t resist pouncing, responding to Jaguar’s video with a snarky, “Do you sell cars?”
Jaguar forgot what brought them to the dance
In the age of digital marketing, it’s alarmingly easy to dismiss the old lessons from the masters. Jack Trout, the proponent of brand positioning, cautioned brands in his 2001 book Big Brands, Big Trouble: “Never forget what brought you to the dance.”
Brands often forget what brought them to the dance, and that becomes the cause of their downfall. Bud Light sidestepped their DNA in their audience-slapping social media campaign in 2023. Now Jaguar seems poised to have its own moment of reckoning.
Apparently, the iconic British brand of nearly a century wants to transition away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to a completely electric fleet. The first electric car is expected to roll out in early 2026. And this reimagining of the brand is a part of that evolving scenario.
A Brand Unrecognizable
You might not have recognized it as Jaguar without seeing the hullabaloo on social media. Would you have been able to tell from their latest creative?
In the new ad, models—old and young, slim and plump, representing different ethnicities—sashay across the screen wearing glitzy, ultra-bright colors. It’s like a kaleidoscope exploded on a fashion runway.
The ad ends with the new tagline: “Copy Nothing,” followed by the reveal of the new logo in a new typeface. The tagline strikes you as if it just broke out of an ’80s sandbox when “Think Different” and “Just Do It” ruled the roost. It’s as if Jaguar hired Marty McFly as their new creative director.
Risking Brand Identity
This is a huge perceptual risk that Jaguar has taken. The payoff could be sketchy at best. This brand shift doesn’t line up with the perceptions in the customers’ minds. In fact, it goes against them.
Jaguar’s core audience has always been enthusiasts who value performance, luxury, and that unmistakable growl of a V-8 engine. By alienating this base, Jaguar risks becoming a brand without an identity.
Brand Schizophrenia
Marketing people rarely arrive at a new job and say, “Things look pretty damn good; let’s not change anything.”
Jack Trout, in his 2008 book In Search of the Obvious, writes that powerful brands have distinct personalities. They should not be messed around with. His message to management is clear: “What you have to fight off is the tendency for marketing people to tinker with the brand. After all, how else can they make their mark?”
While aiming for reinvention, they’ve stumbled into the realm of Brand Schizophrenia—a term Trout warned us about years ago.
Perhaps Jaguar’s marketing team spent too much time in echo chambers filled with buzzwords like “disruption,” “innovation,” and “reimagining.” Maybe they forgot that rebranding isn’t about discarding your heritage but about evolving it. There’s a fine line between innovation and alienation, and Jaguar seems to be teetering dangerously on the latter.
The automotive landscape is undoubtedly changing, with electric vehicles becoming more mainstream. But look at brands like Porsche and Ferrari—they’re embracing electrification without losing the essence of what makes them iconic. Jaguar could have taken a page from their playbook.
Conclusion
In the grand theater of marketing, Jaguar’s rebranding feels more like an identity crisis unfolding on stage. It’s a textbook example of how to destroy an iconic brand. They swapped the sleek growl for a rainbow parade.
Jaguar is trying to appeal to a broader audience. But in their quest to “Copy Nothing,” they might be erasing everything. As the world watches, the hope is that Jaguar can electrify its lineup without short-circuiting its soul.
Only time will tell if this rebranding will work. Right now, it looks like a misfire from a much-revered car brand.
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