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By Jordan King
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Jaguar's managing director has defended the company's rebrand and called out "vile hatred and intolerance" directed at individuals featured in an advertisement.
The luxury car brand has been embroiled in controversy since it released a new ad on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this month. It features models of different ages, races and genders stepping out of an elevator adorned in avant-garde makeup and clothes, and does not feature a single car.
Multiple people have criticized the ad for "going woke" and "trashing the heritage" of the 90-year-old brand but company boss Rawdon Glover has stood by it.
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"If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we'll just get drowned out. So we shouldn't turn up like an auto brand," he told the Financial Times. "We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes."
He also said he was disappointed in "the level of vile hatred and intolerance" directed at people in the ad, referring to comments seen by Newsweek, some of which are homophobic.
Jaguar told Newsweek: "Our brand relaunch for Jaguar is a bold and imaginative reinvention and as expected it has attracted attention and debate. As proud custodians at such a remarkable point in Jaguar's history we have preserved iconic symbols while taking a dramatic leap forward. The brand reveal is only the first step in this exciting new era and we look forward to sharing more on Jaguar's transformation in the coming days and weeks."
The firm's repositioning is part of the larger Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Reimagine strategy. JLR is the parent company of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. That strategy has already played out at Land Rover where the company's vehicles are now divided under Range Rover, Defender and Discovery brands rather than all marked as Land Rovers.
Jaguar's offerings will be battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).
The company announced its intention to move more upmarket in 2021, naming Porsche and Bentley as target rivals. It is taking on new colors, using the term "modern exuberance" to describe its new palette. Bright pinks, yellows and oranges, and cream are featured in the brand's marketing and messaging.
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The "modern exuberance" will also extend to its new-style dealerships, but the company only expects a small number to convert from their current state.
The "Jaguar" maker's mark will change as well. The new moniker comes in a newly created font, with characters all the same height, with a symmetry coming from the first J and the last R, which is made to look like an upside-down J.
Jaguar has cut production of its current lineup and doesn't plan to start selling new vehicles again until 2026. The brand only managed to move about 8,000 vehicles last year.
Update 11/26/24, 11:33 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Jaguar.
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