Dipsticks.blog

Jaguar’s grand reboot has been making waves for a couple of days now, and the fallout has been nothing short of legendary. Let’s quickly catch up: Jaguar has been teetering on the edge of obsolescence for years, with poor sales and cars that, frankly, struggled to compete with rivals. When the company announced back in August that it was halting production of all its models except the F-Pace, alarm bells rang. Then came the announcement that even the F-Pace was getting the axe, deepening fears that Jaguar was on its deathbed.

But last week, a camouflaged electric Jaguar saloon appeared online, stirring excitement. The news? It’s slated to hit showrooms in 2026. Enthusiasm skyrocketed. Then, on Wednesday, Jaguar wiped its social media feeds and unveiled… a film? An ad campaign? Some kind of abstract moving media that signalled a new era for Jaguar.

The moving media

Judging by the collective reaction, you’d think the video featured either a Jag employee pouring petrol over their head and setting fire to themselves. While I can confirm it’s not quite that dramatic, the video does leave some very searching questions, such as:

1. If you’re relaunching a car brand, shouldn’t you show a car in the video?
2. What did the mood room for this look like? Did it feature episodes of the Teletubbies and the music video for New Order’s True Faith on a loop?
3. Most importantly: WHAT ON EARTH DID I JUST WATCH?!

Abstract art films in car advertising aren’t new; when was the last time a car ad actually focused on the car? It’s always about some utopian cyber-city lifestyle nonsense. But this particular video raised more questions than answers—especially after seeing the new badge and logo.

Other delights to go with the video were some peak of the genre marketing-nothing phrases such as “Exuberant Modernism” and “Copy Nothing”. As well as a change of colour scheme to Yellow, red and blue. No one thought of Racing green lads? no?

here’s the link to watch it by the way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtFIrqhfng

then I turned my attention to the new logo.

The New Look: What Happened Here?

• What the hell is that font?
• Why is the “G” capitalised? It now reads as JaGuar. Why?!
• Why drop the iconic leaping jaguar from the logo? That emblem was pretty iconic, wasn’t it?

This redesign hints at Jag- sorry JaG’s internal diagnosis: they believe the brand is the problem. But I—and many others—would argue the issue wasn’t the brand at all. It was the cars.

The Real Problem: Falling Behind

Jaguar’s troubles began around 2015. On the saloon side, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi were pulling ahead with ever-evolving models. And when Jag tried to cash in on SUVs taking over the world, Jaguar—tied to its Land Rover sibling—had to compete not only with other brands but also with itself. Under Tata Motors’ ownership, Jaguar seemed increasingly like dead weight, holding back Land Rover’s success. Think about it: when was the last time you saw a Jaguar ad? Exactly.

Today, the only reason to buy a Jaguar is if you’re in the know—appreciating its heritage and history, or perhaps charmed by Top Gear and The Grand Tour making “Jaaaaaag” a running joke. And what heritage it is:

• The gorgeous XK120, E-Type, and F-Type sports cars.
• The villainous saloons like the Mk2, Mk10 and the XJ
• Groundbreaking motorsport innovations, like disc brakes on the C-Type and aerodynamic prowess with the D-Type.
• Dominance at Le Mans with the XJR-9.
• A solid presence in Formula E today.

This is a legacy worth celebrating. Surely, there’s SOMETHING in all this history that could inspire a compelling marketing campaign. And once upon a time, they did. Jag won an award for their “All Villains Drive Jags” ad. They clearly know or at least knew how to play into it, Why can’t you do that now?!?!

The Uphill Battle Ahead

So, where does this leave JaGuar? The traditional customer base has seemingly abandoned ship, young car enthusiasts like me aren’t convinced, and experiments with my peers suggest the average 20-something isn’t biting either. With no new models until 2026, Jaguar faces a steep climb to win back attention and sales.

Their new slogan of “Copy Nothing” also doesn’t seem to have gotten off to the best of starts. While Jag have shown off a concept car they’ve drawn particular attention to the lack of rear windscreen. A feature pioneered by the Polestar 4…

That said, JaGuar seems confident. Their social media teams are out in force, defending this reboot as if their lives depend on it. This leaves us with two possibilities:

1. They’re high as a kite on their own supply of optimism.
2. They’ve sunk too much money into this to back out now.
3. Their plan was to cause as much chaos as possible and get people talking about JaGuar. If that’s the case the marketing department probably looks a bit like this…

4. A JaGuar marketing high-up has supposedly mentioned transitioning away from cars entirely. If that’s the case, the new logo might be a stroke of genius. it’ll work wonders on a fridge. Or a kettle.

So to summarise my ramblings into one rhetorical question for the future, will this rebrand prove to be genius or the car company equivalent of Hara-kiri?

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next article: Given this saga with JaG is still unfolding possibly tomorrow…