Learning from the Jaguar rebrand campaign

Many marketers, advertisers, auto manufacturers, consumers, and the general public have criticized the Jaguar rebranding campaign.

‘It’s like murdering a British Icon. They may as well have shot Paddington Bear.’

‘That font looks like it belongs on a pink lemonade flavored condom,’ and 'the logo and color make the brand now look like a vape brand that only children buy.’

About the ad itself, one astute and funny commentator said, ‘shit looks like if Quibi made Star Trek.’

Times columnist Giles Coren rightly points out that the rebrand has alienated Jaguar’s core market—middle-class, middle-aged consumers —and replaced it with fans who probably would not even buy a car, let alone a Jaguar.

Jaguar sales have dropped significantly in recent years, with sales in 2024 being around 33,000 units compared to 180,833 in 2018. 

They used a 'Copy nothing' tagline, with a woman wielding a sledgehammer next to the line 'break moulds' - even though, ironically, many have spotted similarities with that and the iconic '1984' Apple ad of the '80s.

Iconic 1984 Apple Ad

'Copy Nothing' 2024 Jaguar Ad

Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover said the intended message had been lost in “a blaze of intolerance” on social media and denied that the promotional video was designed as a “woke” statement. He defended Jaguar’s ‘bold’ rebrand.

But I agree with social media —it’s a terrible ad, and the old logo is way better. What’s to defend?

What I’m dying to know is -

Where were the honest, critical, informed voices at Jaguar, when this entire campaign was built? Silenced? Or not even there?

I’ve seen countless examples of management missteps in my career.

Usually, it's due to 'groupthink' and a fear of expressing opinions that diverge from those of senior leadership, which can derail things. Often, it's a failure to listen to the experts.

Just like what happened with this Jaguar rebrand campaign. 

In each case, management doubled down on the error—just as the Jaguar boss did. 

This merely compounds the problem - a glaring demonstration of the sunk cost fallacy. 

These issues could be caused by company experts not speaking up, by the leaders being 'stubborn', or by them deciding to throw good money after bad (Sunk cost fallacy).

I know it’s easy to spot problems - most of us can do that. But I’d like to offer a few solutions to myopic management thinking and the allure of biases, that can prove fatal to sound marketing strategy (to avoid the Jaguar debacle):

1. Encourage your team's contrarians, thinkers, creatives, and experts to speak up.

2. Create psychological safety. Ninety per cent of your employees will gravitate towards accepting bad decisions by senior management rather than risking the consequences of speaking out. 

You must fight against complacency and stagnation to create a dynamic workplace that rewards new ideas and people who take risks in expressing their views.

3. When you encourage people to speak up, there is a danger that they will complain without hope or even desire for problem resolution.

So, once you get your team to open up, you must keep the outlook positive, and inspiring. ‘We talk about problems to find solutions’ should be the mantra.

And above all, speak to a range of experts before you spend a fortune on a logo, website, or even campaign rebrand.