With its controversial new ad campaign, “Copy Nothing,” British luxury car company Jaguar becomes the latest brand to sacrifice its reputation and sales at the altar of “modern audiences.”
I mean, just look at this:
Jaguar debuted the widely mocked 30-second ad, along with its new slogan and logo, on its X account last Tuesday.
The surreal advertisement showcases ethnically diverse and largely gender-fluid models clad in androgynous attire, posed against an otherworldly backdrop. The visuals are accompanied by evocative phrases such as “break molds,” “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” and “delete ordinary.”
Nowhere in the ad is the slightest trace of any car.
As you can imagine, the backlash was swift and brutal.
“This is so the wrong timing for this,” writer Jon Gabriel said of the ad. “I can understand the C-suite being conned into this in 2022, but you have completely misread the moment. Bud Light 2.0.”
Craig Lucie, CEO of Lucie Content based in Atlanta, Georgia, noted, “This is why the right marketing and content team is important. You sell cars. Nothing in this ad tells a potential buyer about the story behind your product. What are your takeaways from this ad?”
One user on X summed up the spot as “when you walk into the elevator and the entire DEI department is there.”
And Elon Musk tweeted, “Do you sell cars?” in a pointed reference to one of my favorite jokes about the advertising industry. (Car brand: “Are you sure this ad will help us sell more cars?” Woke ad agency: “Cars?”)
This, as some of the ad’s more creative critics began posting clever parody videos and one enterprising designer even one-upped Jaguar with a superior logo design:
Now THIS is how a logo refresh is done. Absolutely beautiful. Take notes, @Jaguar.
Designed by @AllanPeters pic.twitter.com/uCSmlzy1pK
— Jaimee Michell (@thegaywhostrayd) November 22, 2024
Chasing MOdErN aUdiEnCes
So what is going on here? Is this simply another play for some of that sweet, sweet ESG money — or is it something more?
Jaguar’s press release boasts about “a new era” of transformation “defined by Exhuberant Modernism”:
A new era begins today for Jaguar.
A completely transformed Jaguar brand recaptures an ethos to Copy Nothing that can trace its roots back to the words of its founder, Sir William Lyons.
Jaguar’s transformation is defined by Exuberant Modernism, a creative philosophy that underpins all aspects of the new Jaguar brand world.
It embraces bold designs, unexpected and original thinking, creating a brand character that will command attention through fearless creativity.
Meanwhile, the company’s chief creative officer, Professor Gerry McCovern, claims the rebrand “recaptures the essence of Jaguar, returning it to the values that once made it so loved, but making it relevant for a contemporary audience.”
Gee, are you sure about that, Professor?
Let’s cut the shit. Here is the real reason for this Jaguar rebrand:
Sales of Jaguar cars are in freefall and have been for years. Desperate for a solution and having no idea what to do, the company has decided to flip the script with an ill-advised embrace of super-duper DEI messaging (a la Virgin Atlantic) in the hopes of finding new buyers for its cars.
Rawdon Glover, the managing director at Jaguar, recently admitted as much to The Telegraph: “We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.”
(Part of Jaguar’s strategy, it should be noted, involves the very progressive idea™ of phasing out production of all of the company’s gas-powered cars in favor of a fully electric product line by 2026. Hmm, maybe Jaguar should ask Ford how that has worked out for them.)
The problem with this “solution” is that it is no solution at all. After the spectacular and highly publicized failures of other companies that have tried similar stunts — I’m looking at you, Bud Light, Gillette, and dozens of others — Jaguar should know better.
As Paul Burke, an advertising copywriter, told The Telegraph: “As a piece of creative work, it’s rubbish. It’s really cheaply done and there’s no idea in it . . . It could be for anything but I’d put it differently: it could be for nothing. I’ve learnt nothing from that. It doesn’t make me want to buy a Jaguar.”
He’s right. This campaign is not bold or brave or fearless. It’s old and tired and empty. The new slogan may say “copy nothing,” but all the ad really does is copy and paste outdated DEI-style advertising.
Today’s consumers see through this type of trite and ridiculous faff. Yet once again, it is set to destroy a legendary brand.
Cranky Ad Review rating: One legacy-killing ad campaign out of five.
The end of an era? (And not just for Jaguar, but for The Cranky Creative blog)
After nearly 40 ad reviews, this may be my final critique. Why? Because I am tired. Of ads, of ad people, of the entire industry itself. I mean, just look at it all. And let’s face it: no matter how many ad reviews I write, or how many times I may be quoted in publications like The Telegraph, I’m not going to make a difference. The advertising industry has lost its way. It’s been lost for a very long time, and I have less than zero faith it will ever find its way back.
I’ve been considering this for a while. In the past 18 months, I have ended my career as a professional copywriter and tried my hand as both a USPS mail carrier and 911 operator before starting a new career in the field of security. (More on that in a future blog post.)
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Only time will tell if this turns out to be my final ad review, but as I type these words right now, this Jaguar ad feels like the right place to stop.
See all Cranky ad reviews | Go to blog home page | Subscribe for free
First, I sincerely hope you continue blogging, especially these reviews. As someone who often lunges for the “mute” button on the remote when the commercials come on, I find the way that you eviscerate these God-awful spots very cathartic. Someone’s gotta do it! It was what originally turned me on to your blog. So few commentators have the balls to call these fools out, so it’s truly satisfying to see someone saying out loud what I’m quite sure a whole bunch of us are thinking.
Now, let’s address the insufferable alleged “creatives” responsible for this abomination of a Jaguar ad. You already nailed so much of what makes this thing so infuriating: the fact that it’s basically batter-dipped and triple-coated in DEI, as well as this stupid post-modern, deconstructionist aesthetic (or “exuberant modernism,” whatever the hell that means). Why does it feel like I’m back in that 400-level philosophy course in phenomenology, existentialism and post-structuralism that I made the mistake of signing up for? God, I could never understand a damn thing that professor or any of those nerd eggheads were talking about.
From a visual and audio standpoint, everything about this spot is jarring and grating. Unpleasant. The loud clashing colors. The landscape. The techno soundtrack. The empty cliches posing as profound pronouncements. The appearance of the actors. All of it nauseating.
But what I find most offensive is the unspoken message lurking just beneath the surface. And that message goes something like this: “we are smarter, more sophisticated, more evolved and much hipper than you, you ignorant, uncultured dolts. Stand back and be mesmerized as we grace you with this nuanced, progressive work of intellectual and creative genius that is no doubt far too complex for your neanderthal skulls to grasp, yet we’ll allow you exposure to our masterpiece anyway, for perhaps one day you’ll come to appreciate our groundbreaking artistry and timely social commentary.” Spots like this always feel like the people who created it have some kind of massive chip on their shoulders, like they’re burdened with some moral obligation to enlighten the unwashed masses, and the only vehicle available to them is the mundane and so very pedestrian TV commercial. So they’ll transform it — and in the process (and their minds) make a real statement.
This ad drips with that kind of derisive condescension and sense of superiority. It certainly doesn’t help that these genderless freaks are strutting with that pissy runway model pout, like they’re so above all this, and they can’t believe they even have to be here.
To me, this is comparable to all those current car ads that insist on very intentionally placing a blended, multi-ethnic, multi-racial family in the SUV, as if to drive home the point that blacks, whites and Asians can and do intermarry, and it’s our job to remind you of that. I find this particularly objectionable — and lest you read this and think I’m some raging racist, hold your tongue. I myself am the product of a racially and ethnically mixed marriage, and I’ve dealt with this issue my entire life. I certainly don’t need some jerk-wad know-it-all DEI consultant do-gooder at the ad agency shoving this equity shit down my throat, thanks. Like I don’t get it.
I now fervently wish for the Jaguar brand and the dim-bulb nitwits who created this to suffer greatly and deeply for putting such an awful thing into the world.
THANK YOU, Greg, for taking the time to write such a banger comment. I couldn’t agree with you more. And you know, I hope my readers take even half as much enjoyment out of reading my posts as I just did reading yours.
Your dissection of the underlying messages and the condescending tone of these ads is spot on, and I appreciate you calling out all of the additional facets of this ad that make it so egregious. It’s clear to me that you understand the mindsets and ideological agendas at work here, and that you are bone-tired of it. As we all should be.
Moreover, I applaud your comment because it shows a willingness to push back against all of this lunacy — again, as we all should. By continuing to simply ‘tune out’ this kind of work, we only allow it to continue. It won’t be until we consumers start to stand up and speak out — with our voices as well as our pocketbooks — that ad makers will get the message.
It may sound harsh, but I too wish failure upon the talentless “creatives” who put out this kind of dreck. It’s the only way they’ll go away, and the only chance we have to reach a day when every commercial break can be less of a compounding irritation to endure.
Thanks again for speaking out.
Nothing is as obnoxious, irritating, ridiculously stupid, and overplayed, as the “new” Liberty Mutual TV commercials. That creepy sick weirdo they got to replace NO talent ass wipe Doug is even worse than that jackass moron Doug was!!! LM will NEVER learn that viewers absolutely despise their horrible ads, and their godawful jingle.period!!!
I’m afraid I haven’t kept up with the latest feculence coming from Liberty Mutual. Now that I hear you say how bad it is, I’m not sure that I want to go out of my way to find it, either!
I don’t blame you. It’s like shoveling during a snowstorm these days. Good luck in your future endeavors. It’ll be nice to see how you’re making out in your new career if you decide to post again.💁🏻♀️
Thanks, Maryann. I’m not sure if I’ll write any more ad reviews, but I definitely have more blog posts in me yet. And an update on my career change is one of them — you can expect it sooner rather than later.
I do appreciate your comment and support over the years, Maryann!