In November 2024, Jaguar broke the internet with a rebranding splash that took social media users for a ride.
In a bright, colorful video featuring a smattering of high-fashion models and no cars, the brand unveiled a refreshed branding identity with a new set of logos, marks, and a new slogan to differentiate itself from its past.
That day, Jag declared itself reborn as an electric car brand that would “delete ordinary,” “break molds,” and “copy nothing,” a statement so provocative that it attracted the attention of people who had no interest in cars.
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La Vie en Jaguar
But while Jaguar remains committed to a future of high-end EVs, its latest on-brand stunt has continued to deepen the divide between traditional auto enthusiasts and the “new Jaguar.”
Jaguar shared a set of new photos and videos on its Instagram and TikTok accounts showing its Type 00 (pronounced ‘Zero-Zero’) concept car making a surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week.
The Jag, which was painted in a shade it calls “French Ultramarine,” was captured by Jaguar’s official photographers and the local paparazzi transporting Irish actor Barry Keoghan to an exclusive event during the week of showcases that brought celebrities, influencers, and other A-listers to shows held by high-end fashion houses like Vivienne Westwood, Lacoste, and Saint Laurent.
In addition, the same car was also shown transporting actor Jamie Dornan to a separate event.
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Though the tabloids focused less on the cars and more on the actors of respective ‘Saltburn’ and ‘Fifty Shades’ fame, their activities, and the latest gossip about their tumultuous lives and careers, the comments section underneath Jaguar’s social media posts echo disappointment and discontent with the ‘once-great’ British luxury car brand.
“So much money spent on celebrity glazing and barely any spent on actual market research. Wild.,” Instagram user @sethdoesntsleep said underneath Jaguar’s post featuring Dornan.
“Ruined a perfect brand,” Instagram user @rpiuke07 said in a comment that garnered over 3,100 likes underneath Jaguar’s post featuring Keoghan.
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Further, many of the comments by car enthusiasts derided Jaguar for its supposed “woke” cop-out, echoing the social media reaction surrounding its rebrand announcement back in November.
“Gay car,” Instagram user @dudu.fauth said underneath Jaguar’s post featuring the Saltburn actor.
“They took the easy way! “Let’s find a new audience.” A “woke car”. Because they were incapable of reinventing themselves with their original values: power, precision, dominance, heritage, and raw performance. That was much harder… too much harder for this team,” Instagram user @mr_pico said underneath the same post.
“Is this rebrand for the new rich? NOTHING screams tacky and vulgar louder then a big luxury car in any of the colors in Jaguar’s pallet. Barbie Pink, Trans Blue, BudLight Blue, etc. Its the epitome of bad taste,” Instagram user @j.r.romay said.
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Though Jaguar’s current head honcho, managing director Rawdon Glover, praises the new Jaguar, he knows that its pivot to a more avant-garde, high-end brand is pretty risky.
In a recent interview with British motoring publication Auto Express, he said that the new, over-six-figure pricing would shoo away up to 85% of its customers but noted that he is doing his best to get Jaguar fans on board with the new vision.
Additionally, Rawdon reiterated that its initial November 2024 social media splash was not intended to say, “We’re about diversity,” but to showcase the brand as a new, modern company for the younger, more affluent buyers it is trying to attract.
“The creative concepts and the individuals were chosen because they were very modern, striking, and bold. And we presented a car that was very exuberant, bold and modern,” Rawdon said.
Additionally, he reiterated his confidence, stating that the netizens caught up in the pervasive social media algorithms “crying woke” were not the target audience for Jaguar anyway.
“If an individual [posts] ‘I really don’t like this because it’s woke,’ then the algorithms just feed that. So a whole load of people commented about us who we certainly didn’t set out to inflame or upset: they’re not a target audience that will ever buy the car,” he said.
“But there’s a difference between Jaguar as a brand and JLR as a corporate entity, which is absolutely an advocate for DE&I.”
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