Less Jaguar, More Cheshire Cat.

By Charlie Robbins

Image property of Jaguar

The latest addition to the automotive rebrands came in recent weeks from British car manufacturer Jaguar. Jaguar exploded onto the stage in all its newfound vivid banality in an attempt, one can only imagine, to appeal to a more youthful and contemporary demographic, aligning with their shift towards an electric future.

For those unfamiliar with Jaguar as a brand, its essence has always been synonymous with bold elegance, speed, and sleek design. It has long stood as an institution of British motoring, recognised globally for its prestige and heritage, still boasting the visual familiarity of deep British Racing Green acting as a homage to its prestigious mid-20th-century racing pedigree.

However, Jaguar’s latest brand reveal aligns more closely with the vibrance of *Alice in Wonderland* than with a tenured and progressive automotive manufacturer. The teaser for this new take on the Jaguar brand firmly sits in the camp of the alternatively minded—a group that has never been stereotypically associated with Jaguar drivers at any point in the brand’s history.

The racing green is out, replaced by bold magentas and other vibrant colours that have parked themselves in pride of place. Jaguar is diving headfirst into a demographic that represents truly unknown territory for the company, its culture, and its brand overall.

Within the branding community, it is often thought that such a dramatic and potentially ill-conceived move bears the hallmarks of personal desires from certain individuals at Jaguar, rather than actions taken for the brand’s long-term health. To give some context, rebranding is a wonderful and challenging experience. Here at Penscope, we recently rebranded as well. The line you walk during a rebrand project is made up of your business goals (in Jaguar’s case, a modern and electric-focused ideology), the opportunity to reach a new audience (which is perfectly understandable), and the need to excite current brand enthusiasts and ambassadors (where Jaguar faltered).

Instead of walking the delicate line between deliverables and emotion, Jaguar effectively said, *“To hell with deliverables; we want to be one of the cool kids.”* This is not a particularly dignified stance for an almost 100-year-old brand, seemingly throwing the baby (their loyal customers) out with the bathwater (a historic identity that probably only needed a refresh).

It’s always difficult to predict what will resonate with the global community, but this move seems less like a bold step forward and more like one that will simply be tolerated. Jaguar may still claim it as a success, but it feels more like a meow than a roar.

Image property of jaguar