When you hear the term Jaguar in the car community, it is normally followed with some mixed commentary. While the older classic Jaguars are praised for their beauty and collectability, the newer models are normally not mentioned or frowned upon. It is a popular opinion that Jaguar has decreased in market share and is in desperate need of a rebrand. Jaguar lost its way.
I have worked on many Jaguars over the years, and I even worked at the dealership for a while. I also owned a Jaguar XJ12 for a while, until it met its demise in a traffic accident with an errant Volvo. Their reputation is generally strikingly beautiful cars with the reliability of a cardboard canoe. Electrical problems from the quirky Lucas electrical systems and engines that couldn’t keep oil in them are more of a trademark of Jaguar than the leaping cat hood ornament.
Jaguars are also historic, among their storied motorsports offerings and presentations in pop culture. Costarring in James Bond films, music videos, and TV shows like Mad Men, Jaguars look as good on screen as they do on the racetrack. Jaguar is a legendary brand built on tradition. So, what do you do if tradition isn’t enough?
You rebrand.
Rebranding isn’t new to Jaguar. In 1999, Jaguar released the S-type, a smaller, yet luxurious sports sedan. With prime placement in Sting’s music video Desert Rose, Jaguar was introduced to Gen X audiences as modern, professional, yet romantic. It showed a new direction in the company, and it made a big impression on me personally. I could see myself driving one instantly and was excited to see them on the road. It was a success that brought new life to a failing company.
Jaguar has fallen on hard times again. There are no more Jaguars being produced at all at the time of this writing. In an effort to become a full electric vehicle company, they have axed every model they make. They have decided to go with a three-model lineup for the future, all upscale electric only vehicles. These vehicles should hit the lots in 2026, leaving every Jaguar dealer that exists to survive on service and preowned sales alone.
This week, Jaguar launched their rebrand named “Reimagine” to a very befuddled car community. Releasing a video on their official YouTube channel called “Copy Nothing,” they are setting the mood. The video stars eight models wearing clothes that the average person would make fun of. The set looks like a pastel Martian hellscape with the models painting across the screen and inexplicably carrying a sledgehammer.
The whole ad runs for 30 seconds with trendy fashion house music as a soundtrack. At the end, Jaguar’s new script rolls across the screen. While the commercial’s title is “Copy Nothing” they should have copied other car company ads and included an actual car in there. You read that correctly, there are zero cars in the commercial. If I didn’t see the word Jaguar, I would think this was an ad for anything but a legendary car brand. Go to YouTube and check out this nightmare in person before it gets pulled out of embarrassment.
Reception to this marketing ploy has been on point. Commenters on the video on YouTube have expressed disappointment, embarrassment from current owners, and even calls of firing the team responsible. Reaction videos from YouTube creators have been negative as well, with some saying the car company has gone “woke” in the way that Bud Light did. It is a hot mess.
If you follow any number of automotive media pages or writers, you will know quickly that us writers never agree on anything. Arguing with each other over the finer points of transportation is half the fun. However, after searching long and hard on Twitter, numerous car blogs, and YouTube, I have found no one defending this. Jaguar has been the punching bag of car journalists for years, but it is sad to see it in the shape it is in now. I do commend them for bringing the car community together, because the Tesla Cyber Truck wars earlier this year were very divisive.
Car companies need to learn that there is a such thing as bad press, and trashing a brand as historically important as Jaguar to get noticed isn’t going to work out long term. If you are in a hole, stop digging. Your marketing campaign looks like an April Fool’s joke to people that really understand what honest marketing is. My advice is to focus on making a car that is true to your roots. Every time you have moved from that, you have failed.
As for me, I will see you on the road!
