‘Jaguar’s rebrand roars loudly, but says nothing’

Early in my career, a legendary mentor warned me, “You’d get 100% awareness if you put the Pope naked on a billboard. But is that what you want your brand to be remembered for?” That lesson — to focus on meaning, not just noise — has shaped every brand story and campaign I’ve developed since. Jaguar’s “Copy Nothing” rebranding campaign is the perfect example of mistaking noise for resonance. The world is talking, but is anyone dreaming? From identity confusion to color confusion Let’s be blunt: Jaguar’s rebrand comes after decades of inconsistency and disappointment. The F-Type could have been a modern icon, but cost-cutting left it emotionally flat. Price cuts in the U.S. only signaled that Jaguar doubted its own value. Today, the brand has drifted into irrelevance. Instead of reconnecting with its roots or loyal clients, Jaguar doubled down on confusion. The new direction distances itself from both its heritage and existing customer base — a fatal move in luxury, where legacy and loyalty are assets, not liabilities. The result is a pastel fever dream: random faces, random colors, and no clear reason to care. A tone-deaf debut When the Type 00 show car was unveiled in Paris, the choice was telling. Paris, the city of understated chic, is hardly the place to flaunt automotive excess. That’s for Saint-Tropez, Miami, Dubai, or London. Yet Jaguar, in a bid to align with fashion, missed the city’s cultural cues entirely. A swarm of paid influencers gushed on cue and inundated my Instagram for 24 hours, then vanished. Not a single real member of the target audience I spoke to was inspired. Many of them were speechless — for all the wrong reasons. The disconnect was palpable, especially at a time where clients look for authenticity. One industry commentator called the campaign “a triumph of style over substance: branding for branding’s sake, not for the customer.” Another observed that it was “an exercise in aesthetic emptiness,” pointing out that luxury is about aspiration, not abstraction. To me, it was a stark reminder of the warning I got in my early days: never throw away substance for effect. Course correction is needed Jaguar is reportedly looking for a new agency, showing that management — led by Professor Gerry McGovern, who turned Range Rover into a modern luxury icon — knows change is needed. Having shared a stage about the future of luxury with Gerry in London a while ago, I hold him in the highest esteem. I respect his vision and hope he can steer the brand back on course. Yet, clarity about Jaguar’s values and role is urgent. Luxury is about dreams and emotional resonance, not empty buzz. This only works by surrounding the brand with real expertise — people who deeply understand true luxury and the psychology of high-net-worth consumers. Luxury depends on making people feel something profound. “Copy Nothing” fell spectacularly short. In fact, it’s not just lipstick on a pig; the massive backlash suggests that it was an insult to the intelligence of the true luxury consumer. Rediscover purpose before you roar Jaguar’s mistake is clear: luxury isn’t about being the loudest or most visible but about knowing who you are, what you stand for, and how you make people dream. When a brand loses sight of its identity and purpose, confusion follows — and with it, irrelevance. This is a critical lesson for any luxury brand. A cat that forgets who it is and why it roars becomes just another house pet. This is an opinion piece by Daniel Langer, CEO of Équité, recognized as one of the “Global Top Five Luxury Key Opinion Leaders,” and advisor to some of the most iconic luxury brands in the world. He serves as an executive professor of luxury strategy and pricing at Pepperdine University in Malibu and as a professor of luxury at NYU, New York. Daniel has authored best-selling books on luxury management in English and Chinese, and is a respected global keynote speaker. Daniel conducts in-person masterclasses on various luxury topics across the world. As a luxury expert featured on Bloomberg TV, Forbes, The Economist, and others; Daniel holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in luxury management, and has received education from Harvard Business School. Sign up for his online luxury masterclasses at the Jing Academy.

‘Jaguar’s rebrand roars loudly, but says nothing’

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Published May 26, 2025

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‘Jaguar’s rebrand roars loudly, but says nothing’