Jaguar boss blasts ‘vile hatred and intolerance’ after backlash to supposedly ‘woke’ rebrand
Jaguar’s rebrand has been in development for three years. (Jaguar)
The boss of Jaguar has slammed people who spouted “vile hatred and intolerance” in a backlash to the luxury-car-maker’s supposedly woke rebrand.
Released on social media on 19 November, Jaguar’s 30-second ad featured models of different ages, races and genders, along with phrases such as “live vivid”, “delete ordinary” and “copy nothing”, over a techno soundtrack… but no cars.
The advert prompted a backlash, with the “anti-woke” brigade mocking the clip, and Elon Musk, the chief executive of electric car company Tesla, responding by asking Jaguar Land Rover: “Do you sell cars?”
Rebrand aims to ‘attract new customer base’
Now, the company’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, has pointed out that rather than being a “woke” statement, the ad was part of Jaguar’s desire “to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes” and find its place in the market.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Glover admitted: “We do need to attract a new customer base.”
The rebrand, which sports a new logo in the place of the famous “growler” big cat, has been ongoing for three years and comes as the brand prepares to become an all-electric-car manufacturer ahead of the UK’s 2030 target to half the sales of new purely fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Although disappointed by the “level of vile hatred and intolerance” directed at the models in the advert, Glover said the overall reaction has been “very positive”.
Writing in Forbes, James Morris described the advert as “absolute genius”, adding: “I can’t remember any auto-making launch or rebrand getting this much attention in all my years writing about the car industry.”
Jaguar’s all-electric GT will be unveiled at Miami Art Week on 2 December.
But Jaguar Land Rover isn’t the only big-name brand to face the ire of right-wingers. UK high-street chemist Boots are facing calls for a boycott after their Christmas ad campaign featured actor Adjoa Andoh as Mrs Claus, who used they/them pronouns.
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