Aubrey Dirkes’ Post

https://lnkd.in/d35gBii5 So, Jaguar's new campaign... what can I say? It’s like they’re marketing a $150k car to people who can’t even afford to look at it in the showroom. Seriously, who is this ad even for? Even if you’re targeting the .0001% of the population, this one misses the mark by a mile. Infinity tried this whole “no cars in an ad” gimmick years ago – remember that? (Here’s a reminder: https://lnkd.in/dDWUc7cx) It was a multi-million-dollar flop. Jaguar’s current attempt feels like it’s heading in the same direction, only with a much more ironic, tone-deaf tagline: “Copy Nothing.” Really? The company that’s been copying former owner, Ford and its competitors for decades is telling us to “Copy Nothing”? If irony had a face, this would be it. And I don't get the correlation between men dressing like women in colorful outfits/makeup, brandishing sledge hammers, just to convey individuality. Maybe they've invented a new form of trans-portation? LOL. Let’s be real—Jaguar is still the overpriced, under-performing vanilla in a market full of colorful, exciting competitors. If this marketing stunt was aiming to be the next “Bud Light marketing disaster,” Jaguar, you’d at least have to be relevant. But since we all know that’s not the way it is, let’s skip the funeral and go straight to the wake – it’ll be way more fun. But hey, if this ad somehow convinces you to buy, just be sure to buy two... One for the garage and one to keep in the shop. After all, it's the totally unique Ford, I mean, Jaguar.

Some time ago we spoke of (https://lnkd.in/dQpJGPtP) marketing and communications miscalculations which even towering brands known for their superior understanding of customer psychology can make e.g., an Apple iPad ad showing musical instruments getting mutilated by a mammoth hydraulic press (symbolism for everything collapsing into one tiny tablet) receiving backlash for its insensitivity to thousands of years of humanity's creative tools and artifacts. The latest furor is for Jaguar’s recent rebranding to transition into a luxury EV brand targeting a younger, richer, and more woke market. Its recent ad features (human) models in vibrant outfits with such slogans as “delete ordinary” and “break moulds”. The iconic leaping cat emblem has been replaced with a new minimalist circular logo featuring a "J" and "r" in brass-colored letters. No cars to be seen in the ad, and Elon Musk did not hesitate to punch “Do you sell cars?”. The rebranding has been met by severe backlash, but Jaguar also seems to have cleverly piggybacked on culture wars and woke advertising to project itself into the mainstream EV conversations/controversies of the day. I am still reeling from the loss of the original emblem, but on the edge regarding whether the rebranding is a truly disruptive and successful move or a misadventure putting to risk more than a hundred years of brand equity. https://lnkd.in/d378rfdJ

What is Jaguar doing?! Jaguar just launched a new campaign, and honestly, it’s pure confusion. No one seems to understand the goal or the message. The YouTube comment section (https://lnkd.in/e5rv9HsX) is filled with bewildered customers, my LinkedIn feed is flooded with frustrated marketers, and Jaguar must be feeling the backlash. Why throw all the basics of marketing out the window? Where are their core values? There’s no trace of their quality, heritage, or even the product itself. It looks like they’re trying to sell colorful socks instead of luxury cars. This is. So. Weird. 🤷♂️ Now, let’s contrast this with Burberry, which recently launched a brilliant campaign, "It's Always Burberry Weather" (https://lnkd.in/e9JNvC-3). It nailed their signature style, resonated with their consumers' lifestyle, captured British humor, and told a compelling story. By using influencers and actors, Burberry effortlessly brought their brand into a new era. A masterclass in how to get it right vs. how to miss the mark entirely. What are your thoughts? 👇

Woke. A brand killer.  Killed the Cat. Just some of the phrases used to describe Jaguar’s rebrand (sorry, reimagining) and we have to admit we kinda agree. Now, we understand why they needed to take this step given they are about to relaunch as an electric-only brand, and, let’s face it, their brand tends to be associated with men of a certain age, so a ‘reimagining’ makes sense. But this?! Why have they dispensed completely with years of heritage? Who exactly are they trying to target? Obviously, androgynous people who don’t actually need to see the cars, as they are too busy wearing floaty, colourful (and pretty awful) clothes and sitting on rocks. And if this is their ad what will their cars look like? This is definitely not the brand who bought us the iconic E-Type or the classic Mark II Inspector Morse car. And isn’t this rebranding simply going to alienate existing customers? Just look at the Bud Light fiasco which saw them lose as much a $1.4 billion in sales and their sales are still deteriorating.  #GoWokeGoBroke exists for a reason. Okay, maybe we are being a bit unfair, so let’s look at some of the positives: 1.     Everyone is talking about the new branding. Okay, maybe not talking about it in the way Jaguar wanted, but talking nonetheless, and you could argue, that’s an example of great marketing. 2.     The logo isn’t bad. Okay, it’s not good either and definitely not as powerful as the original, but it’s harmless enough. Some would even say a bit generic and boring, but it could be a lot worse. 3.     It makes a great case study for future marketers on either ‘how not to reimagine your brand’ or ‘how to break the internet’. 4.     It’s given other brands a great opportunity to cash in on this frenzy with both Specsavers and Nothing launching new logos!!  It would be absolutely fascinating to see the insight behind the creative and what they were trying to achieve. Maybe swap the word Jaguar for Citroën and it just might work! Copy Nothing. More a case of Don’t Copy Jaguar! #jaguar #rebranding #advertising

𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓... Jaguar launched its new logo along with the brand image embedded in it. There is a scandal in the advertising industry because it creates a huge gap between the new brand positioning and the old one. Probably, this is one of the most radical changes in the history of branding. To me, the logo is less important than the brand image/positioning that they launched with it. And now the agency and the Marketing team are probably trying to calm the CEO and the Board down, telling them beautiful things such as: "Don't worry, we were expecting that" or "Don't worry, in history all successful brands were brave enough to break some barriers or go beyond the classical approach; we need to be vibrant" or "Don't worry, we have to target younger generations," etc. These are the classical reasonings from bad marketers. What they are surely not telling the CEO or the Board is the following: 𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞/𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 must be aligned with the target audience and their NEEDS. I guess that Jaguar's clients look for luxury, differentiation, status, quality, etc. None of that appears there. Everything is about the consumers. But it seems to be a positioning for cool advertisers or marketeers that pretend to be brave and break rules. 𝟐.𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 to different target audiences is done in phases, unless you are desperate. 𝟑. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 that those marketers don't even know: Customers have mental budget maps and slots for each expense category (a budget for food, a budget for fun, a budget for status, a budget for transportation, a budget for luxury, etc.). Before, Jaguar positioned themselves as status/luxury/differentiation, which is why people were willing to pay more for a car that is more expensive than others. Now... does the category of being edgy or transgressive have the same budget size in clients' minds? I doubt it. 𝟒. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? I don't know how much dopamine the brain of a wealthy individual will secrete by seeing this positioning. Usually, the brain gets relief when it imagines the outcome. But I do not think this will please their brains a lot. Unless they are trolling us! Have a look and let us know what you think. I leave here the link. Enjoy! https://lnkd.in/dSv4RwpT #marketing, #branding, #customerinsights

I can't help but think that people are being too quick to be so aggressively dismissive of Jaguar's ad, and its new brand positioning. While many people are litterally killing the marketing team for what they've done, I think they already have achieved a few remarakable things: - Everyone is talking about it - Nobody has even seen their new cars yet - Everyone who has seen the ad has developed some curiosity to at least ccheck out their new cars when they'll launch - They took a bold step away from the brand's previous positioning Bear in mind that Jaguar's CEO has made clear that the carmaker is burning cash and not selling even close to enough cars, with the current brand. So, why not taking chances for a radical change? In this era of content overexposition, it is easy to overcome an eventual misstep in communication. Yes of course it's a complete departure from Jaguar's old brand and message, and of course there are many loyal customers who are confused, to say the least. But maybe the company made a bet: that their new brand identity will convince most of them back. Or, that the potential upside from getting this right is worth the risk of losing a loyal base. Time will tell if it really was a bad idea. In the worst case scenario, they tried something bold to revive a declining brand. In a positive one, they may pull it off. In any case, they were bold: the message, the photography, the message. Bold, and coherent with their message: Copy nothing. So for now, and at least until the new models will be released: respect for the audacity and boldness! https://lnkd.in/dypszRdU

Lots of discussion these past few days about Jaguar's rebrand. Many are decrying this as Jaguar going "woke" and overplaying the DEI angle. While I'm not here to defend the choices made in deploying this particular piece of creative, I do want to call out three topics that don't seem to be getting enough play in the blowback. The first of these is that this is a single piece of creative, and one ad does not a campaign make. This particular piece was likely meant to be provocative and to generate buzz so that when the inevitable follow-up creative is pushed out, the audience is paying attention. If provocation was the goal of the first salvo, then consider this a bulls-eye as people have certainly taken notice - and that's saying something for a brand that has fallen off the radar in a big way. The second is that Jaguar has, for decades now, been fighting a losing battle against audience attrition. If one were to close their eyes and envision a Jaguar being driven down the road, chances are the car that comes to mind has no longer been in a production for at least three decades and the person driving it is north of 60 years old, and almost certainly white. In fact, there's a bit of British slang, "Gin and Jag," that is fairly on the nose for this. So if we look at Jaguar as being in the same boat as once revered and iconic brands like Harley-Davidson or Cadillac, in this case, American brands whose core audiences are shuffling off to retirement with no new generation waiting in the wings to replace them, it stands to reason that Jaguar's attempting to reframe and reboot for a younger, broader audience is absolutely the only play available to them at this time. Look past gender, skin color, and fashion in this one ad, and the youth play is obvious. Having said that, Zoolander-esque models and a more playful and less stuffy font against a soft pink background isn't going to carry the day, but until we collectively envision someone other than a 60+ year old man behind the wheel of a 1980s XJ6 when we think of "Jaguar," something clearly had to change. The last point has to do with timing. Let's not forget that Jaguar effectively stopped selling cars and will relaunch as an EV only brand in 2026. Make no mistake, this is a hard reset for the brand, and being able to close one chapter in order to open another is the only real play possible in order to ensure that when the new EVs hit, a new and broader audience is willing to at least entertain that it may be of interest to them. All that being said, think of this as Jaguar's "This is not your father's Oldsmobile" moment.

I wholeheartedly endorse Jaguar’s bold new rebrand. Yes, Jaguar’s recent rebranding has ignited debate, with critics labeling it “wokeness” and supporters praising its audacity. But to me, this isn’t just a new ad—it’s a calculated strategy to align with Jaguar’s electric future. By 2025, Jaguar will transition to an all-electric lineup, retiring its combustion-engine legacy. The ad, with its bold visuals and messages like “Live vivid” and “Delete ordinary,” signals a reset. Critics ask, “Where are the cars?” The answer: Jaguar isn’t selling cars today—production is paused for two years, giving it a rare opportunity to reshape perceptions without immediate sales pressure. Jaguar is not chasing its old audience. It’s targeting a new, progressive demographic aligned with sustainability, artistry, and innovation. Its traditional models were barely profitable; now, it’s pivoting to an exclusive segment, aiming to sell just 50,000 high-margin electric vehicles annually. Think of it as Jaguar’s Steve Jobs moment—a bold focus on fewer, higher-value offerings. Critics, including Musk and Tate, see the ad as abandoning Jaguar’s heritage. But this shift isn’t about forgetting the past; it’s about reinterpreting it for a sustainable future. The simplified leaper logo and tagline “Copy nothing” embody this modern vision. This isn’t “woke” pandering—it’s strategic reinvention. Jaguar’s transformation isn’t for everyone. It’s for a future that demands bold, visionary luxury. The real story will unfold with its electric debut—and this provocative start sets the stage for that renaissance. Nearly 100% of TVCs in the category is "massy". I call that disparagingly as "Catalogue advertising". Jaguar is not a car for the masses. It's about aspirations. Jaguar’s rebranding may not resonate with everyone today, but it sets the stage for a narrative that unfolds over the next two years. It’s a “palate cleanser,” designed to provoke conversation and shift perceptions. Criticism, in this case, isn’t a failure—it’s a sign that Jaguar is challenging the status quo in the luxury category. The real test of Jaguar’s strategy will come when its electric lineup debuts. Until then, the rebrand is a bold declaration of intent, signaling that Jaguar is not just building cars but reimagining luxury mobility for the electric age. As marketers and industry observers, we must recognize the courage it takes to disrupt not just a market but a legacy. Jaguar’s transformation is ambitious, risky, and—if executed well—potentially revolutionary. It’s not about “wokeness” or pandering; it’s about daring to redefine what a luxury brand can be in a rapidly changing world. The question isn’t whether Jaguar’s rebrand aligns with its past—it’s whether it aligns with its future. Been part of teams that have worked on GM, Ford, Toyota and to some extent Porsche. And based on learnings and intuition so far, my answer is a resounding yes.

Jaguar launched this rebranding ad few days ago. Took the creative world and marketers by storm. Huge criticism. Jaguar boss came out defending the new strategy: current jaguars make them zero profit, they need to shake the norm, distant themselves from their current positioning and target totally new segments. Targeting younger audience and delving into the electronic vehicles domain. The ad got tons of publicity for Jaguar and ignited a large debate around the brand. From a strict marketing perspective the ad doesnt adhere to brand codes, appears as if it lost the jaguar brand essence, as if its scrubs the current brand and launches a new one. From a PR perspective got lots of negative heat. From a salience perspective it made a huge bang. Can a single ad make or destroy a brand with such heritage ? I dont believe so. Will this campaign eventually put Jaguar on the new route they are aiming for? To be seen, after seeing the whole campaign and how it settles down. In principle, it doesn't adhere to marketing standards of brand codes maintenance, its too daring and ambitious. One would think that its a totally different brand not just a drastic change in brand. Time would tell us how it will do though. For my own taste, the only aspect of the ad resonating with me, is the powerful slogan (Copy Nothing). Opens doors for so much that can be created. I would have chosen to adhere to the brand essence while doing so though.

Visuals are shortcuts into your audience’s mind. They sneak right into the subconscious, influencing: ✤ which brands they think of first ✤ what they’re drawn to buy ✤ and how much they’ll pay So don’t just pick a colour palette and font combo and call that your brand. (Unless you’re cool with staying invisible.) Instead, build a visual identity that gets noticed and stays in your audience's mind long after they’ve scrolled past. Make every graphic, every detail, unforgettable.