Could this killer rebrand take the company down?
The latest moronic pandering to the woke crowd has resulted in the head of automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) resigning. JLR CEO Adrian Mardell has cried “uncle” after a 35-year tenure with the company and three years at the helm. Did the Brits not get the memo about the Bud Light debacle?
After a disastrous ad campaign that could be called confusing at best and, at worst, not something that could sell a $100,000 vehicle, a beleaguered Mardell is retiring. The ad that sparked his demise starred androgynous models in neon highlighter colors. One man was wearing a dress, and slogans such as “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary,” and “break moulds” (à la the Queen’s English) were bandied about. What the ad did not show in its 30-second run was a vehicle.
Jaguars co-starred in James Bond movies. Land Rovers were favored by the late Queen Elizabeth II, and now all the landed gentry who want to flaunt how “countryside” they might be drive them through the streets of London to a flat, a fancy dinner, or an enviable financial job. So, why in the world would anyone try to rebrand these iconic trademarks of style and class envied by the commoner?
The Woke Response
The JLR spokespeople experienced a tsunami of instant and post-apocalyptic backlash to the ad campaign and swiftly released this statement to Fox Business:
“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 problem was, again, timing. Bud Light lost millions for giving trans activist Dylan Mulvaney the stage. Granted, beer is easier to deal with than a Land Rover Defender. But brand loyalty is a real tightrope to walk. Columnist and editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com, Jon Gabriel, wrote: “This is so the wrong timing for this. I can understand the C-suite being conned into this in 2022, but you have completely misread the moment. Bud Light 2.0.”
The rest of social media was not much kinder, and the rage against Jaguar’s EV pink Batmobile prototype spread like a California wildfire – earning tens of thousands of comments and close to 47 million views in 24 hours.
A Killer Rebrand?
People who are brand loyal to JLR were rightfully perplexed by the ad, as interest has been waning in the goal to go all electric: A sports car needs an internal combustion engine. Nic Carter, a Miami-based general partner at Castle Island Ventures and lifelong Jaguar customer, explained his confusion as the campaign was dropped to Fox News Digital: “I was baffled. I mean, I think the entire brand is iconic, and I don’t think a rebrand is warranted.”
“Jaguar has been going in a troubling direction for a while now. You know, moving away from internal combustion is baffling … because the whole point of a Jaguar is the crackles and the pops from the engines,” Carter said. “And this [ad] is just confirmation that they’re on the wrong track.
“And it seems like they are swimming against the current and trying to sell cars with an [ad showing] a violation of gender norms and such concepts,” opined Carter to Fox Digital. “Really makes no sense if you think about who the audience for a sports car is. It’s utterly baffling.”
There is a successor: The group chief financial officer of Tata Motors Limited is stepping up for Jaguar and Land Rover, a subsidiary of Tata Motors headquartered in India.
Until the fiscal year ends, Mardell’s tenure seems to have withstood the test of a poorly executed retooling. Under his leadership, JLR amassed its highest profit in decades and repaid more than $6.6 billion in debt, continuing its trend of consistent performance, delivering the best full-year and quarterly earnings in a decade.
But Mardell, exiting stage left, leaves the iconic business in turmoil. Hopefully, Mr. PB Balaji has a better grip on the steering wheel.
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