‘Are you selling cars?’: Jaguar redesign sparks ridicule, confusion online | Automotive Industry
British luxury car manufacturer Jaguar is under fire for a flashy new advertising campaign that promotes inclusivity but lacks one key ingredient – any reference to cars.
Released on multiple social media platforms, the 30-second clip spans different ages, genders, and races with phrases like “live clearly”, “remove the common,” and “copy nothing” like a little techno soundtrack.
Part of Jaguar’s major renaissance in electric cars after years of sluggish sales, the ad was met with confusion and derision online.
After the launch of the campaign on Tuesday, many social media users called the word “shameful” and damaged Jaguar’s image as a luxury brand associated with 1960s glamor and James Bond.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk was among those who joined the fray, writing “Do you sell cars?” on his site X, where the ad received more than 90 million views and generated tens of thousands of comments.
On Jaguar’s YouTube channel, one user joked that “the only thing brave about this ad is leaving the comment section open”.
On the Reddit social media forum, one user wrote that the redesign was “either marketing genius or brand suicide”.
“The amount that Jaguar has made for itself is huge, no matter what social media you use, everyone is talking about Jaguar,” the user wrote.
“If they finally reveal what they’re working on it will generate a lot of attention and I hope that’s a good thing.”
Do not copy anything. #Jaguar pic.twitter.com/BfVhc3l09B
– Jaguar (@Jaguar) November 19, 2024
Some marketing experts suggested that the ad’s tone felt awkward amid the political and cultural shift brought on by the re-election of US President Donald Trump and the decline of movements like Black Lives Matter and #Metoo.
“This is similar to when films used to come out in other countries a year after they were shown in Hollywood. The vibe of this redesign may have worked in 2021, but dropping it in late 2024 only underscores the reasons for Jaguar’s brand decline in the first place: it’s outdated and confusing,” wrote Lulu Cheng Meservey, founder of strategic communications firm Rostra. in X.
While the corporate world rushed to destroy its social justice credentials amid the rise of movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter in the 2010s, many companies have recently sought to distance themselves from progressive causes.
This change follows many instances of campaigns with persistent themes causing backlash.
Anheuser-Busch InBev saw its North American sales drop by $1.4bn last year following a partnership between Bud Light and transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In the United Kingdom, calls to boycott the Boots pharmacy continue over a Christmas ad featuring a Black Mrs Claus, played by British actress Adjoa Andoh, and LGBTQ elves packing presents while Santa Claus sleeps.
On the corporate board, the debate about the future of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives also continues.
Home improvement chain Lowe’s, tractor maker John Deere, motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson, Ford and Brown Forman, makers of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, have all changed their DEI policies in the past year.
Other companies such as MasterCard, Cigna Health and JPMorgan have said their DEI efforts will continue.
For Jaguar, a brand long associated with rich old men, the biggest problem with the ad is that the target audience is unclear, Cheng Meservey said.
“When it tries something new, it’s not clear who it’s for,” Cheng Meservey told X. “If they’re going to leave the male audience, they have to include the more moneyed audience, and it’s not clear who they’re going to go with. This one. Vegans?”
Jaguar did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment, but responded to his critics with X, saying, “All will be revealed.”
Owner Jaguar Land Rover has stopped selling new Jaguar models in the UK this week ahead of a planned transition to electric-only models in 2026, which will see the company invest hundreds of millions of pounds in its UK manufacturing plants.
The automaker, which is part of India’s Tata Motors, said the move would “create breathing space” ahead of the relaunch, which is slated for 2021.
