I watched the new Jaguar advertisement a few times, trying to make sense of it. I mean, there weren’t even any cars in the ad.
I’m not unfamiliar with art-house or avant-garde filmmaking — it’s fairly typical in music videos, and some great experimental directors often pivot from films to music videos and commercials. So, I can actually appreciate the futuristic aesthetics, even if the cast’s costumes seem a bit too goofy for my taste. Personally, I prefer edgier, darker Y2K-inspired aesthetics, like The Matrix or Blade. But honestly, I don’t think I was the target demographic for this ad anyway.
Jaguar has apparently been losing a significant amount of money over the past few years, falling far from profitability. They needed to do something drastic, or they were likely to continue their downward spiral. Santino Pietrosanti, the brand’s new Marketing Director, recently stated at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards — an event dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community — that he and Jaguar are committed to his initiative of serving DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and LGBTQ+ representation in the workplace and their industry.
Of course, the internet has been roasting this publicity stunt and disruptive rebrand to the maximum. While I understand the criticisms and concerns about another so-called “woke agenda,” I’m more interested in seeing what Jaguar does next. Are they positioning themselves as more of a lifestyle media company that happens to offer electric vehicles, rather than a traditional luxury car company making videos to promote cars? If they’re moving toward becoming a media-centric brand, they may have a substantial opportunity. They could serve a demographic actively seeking luxury — or aspiring to it — while developing sustainable, energy-efficient technologies for a variety of industries.
Perhaps more shocking than Jaguar’s rebrand, which looks like a colorful acid trip, is their commitment to switching entirely to electric vehicles. If the legacy of luxury cars like Jaguar has been tied to ideals of power, dominance, racing, strength, and elegance, couldn’t the future of electric vehicles appeal to an alternative, rising demographic? A demographic that seeks to go beyond the perceived confinements of what it means to be human? While many traditional car enthusiasts have a specific worldview, there are other growing perspectives, and those perspectives may find a home in Jaguar’s evolving brand identity.
Check out their promotions for other Jaguar products and technologies on their YouTube channel over the past year.
It seems they may be committed to giving customers a truly unique experience in the automotive space. The personas featured in their ad might just be surface-level talking points for a much larger artistic shift in their advertising approach. I think the subtle incorporation of gender identities is a character in their new marketing strategy, but the true focus is on the aesthetic, music, direction and most importantly it’s new products. This feels like part of a long-term play to serve a futuristic, post-human aesthetic and ideology…
Share this post