In the wake of Jaguar’s rebrand, B&T sat down Matt Baxter and Robyn Sefiani to unpack just what it is about this refresh that has confused the industry.
Jaguar’s bold rebrand, unveiled at Miami Art Week, has ignited passionate reactions across the marketing and automotive industries. The British luxury carmaker, known for its traditional designs and classic heritage, has taken a sharp turn with the electric Type 00 concept car, presented in Miami pink and London blue.
The striking design features—including laser-etched brass ingots, rear-facing cameras in place of a rear windscreen, and a wraparound racing helmet-inspired front—signal Jaguar’s ambition to redefine its image as it transitions into a fully electric brand.
However, the polarising aesthetic, artistic campaign and drastic departure from the Jaguar legacy have left experts and fans divided.
Jaguar’s marketing strategy shifted dramatically, with teaser ads emphasising diversity and originality over showcasing vehicles under the tagline “copy nothing.” This unconventional approach has garnered both praise for its innovation and criticism for alienating long-time loyalists.
The carmaker called the rebrand a “completely transformed Jaguar brand” and “a new era” designed to make the brand “relevant for a contemporary audience.” However, the campaign drew significant online backlash, with Reform leader Nigel Farage declaring, “I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to,” while Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked simply, “Do you sell cars?”
In a post to LinkedIn, adland legend Mark Ritson called the “pink prototype” a high schooler’s sketch. “Clearly, there is NO way jagUAr will have any cars to sell in 2025. And most of 2026. Their “world’s greatest” launch video was wrong for many reasons, not least because it was 18 Months premature,” he said.
“Inclusion and diversity aren’t just cool words, they also mean you stop talking about losing 85 per cent of your loyalists and “not being for everyone”. That message is dumb, exclusive (in the bad way) and runs against every lesson from marketing data”.
Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover told Sky News that it wanted the rebrand to be “bold and disruptive” and recognised that while the conversation may not have all been good, at least it was in it.
“More people have been talking about Jaguar for the last two weeks than – goodness, for so much longer. Car companies unveil new cars all the time and go completely unnoticed,” Glover said.
‘A confusing, over-indulgent piece of content’
B&T sat down with strategist, entrepreneur and investor Mat Baxter, who expressed a rather blunt opinion on the rebrand and campaign.
“I absolutely hate it,” he stated. “I actually would be less likely to buy a Jaguar having seen those ads”.
“Jaguar is a revered automotive brand that appeals to the enthusiasm of car people. You buy a Jaguar because you have a passion for cars. That’s what they’re interested in, the car. A whole bunch of people running around in flowing gowns, coming in and out of lifts with these meaningless expressions, do nothing to get them excited about the vehicle and the promise of the brand”.
According to Baxter, the campaign not only doesn’t reflect the nature of the brand, but it is not even entirely clear which brand it is advertising until the name appears at the end of the spot.
“In my view, it doesn’t even meet the basic fundamental standard of an ad, which is actually to be clear about the brand that is meant to be advertising,” he explained. “That is not an ad, that is, in my view, an overly indulgent piece of content”.
“I don’t know where they’re coming from; I’m completely confused by what the strategy is meant to be. I guess they’re trying to position it as a counter-culture brand that is about breaking the mould of automotive advertising”.
Baxter expressed concern that the brand is running the risk of being “constrictive” instead of “expansive”.
“You could alienate the very people you are trying to sell to,” he said.
“Jaguar is one of those brands that has a very loyal base, there is a very passionate group of Jaguar buyers that really love that brand. I understand that they want to expand on that because that loyalty isn’t enough, but I don’t think this was the way to go about it”.
The fundamental flaw, Baxter suggested, was applying this “copy nothing” principle to the ad instead of to the product itself.
“They’ve applied the brand philosophy of copy nothing to the ad, but what the ad should be doing is showing that the brand and product copy’s nothing, not the ad itself”.
‘No brand damage’
Robyn Sefiani, president of ANZ and reputation counsel at Sefiani, part of Clarity Global, confessed that she was shocked and surprised when she first saw the rebrand.
“It was so far away from Jaguar’s traditional heritage brand look and feel that my immediate thought was: Jaguar’s sales must be diving, and they have to do something dramatic to reverse that trend to survive”.
Ultimately, however, if the goal was to get global attention fast, Sefiani believes the brand has “certainly succeeded”.
“It sparked controversy, lighting up social and mainstream media – no doubt another Jaguar rebranding goal. Misinformation abounded with claims Jaguar’s share price (it’s not publicly traded so has no share price) had plummeted. Not true, and neither did its parent company’s share price reach allegedly new lows”.
“From my perspective, there’s no brand or reputation damage – just lots of controversy and curiosity. Sure, the futuristic ad may alienate some traditional male Jaguar die-hards, but as the company’s managing director has said, Jaguar needs to appeal to a new audience,” Sefiani said.
“Ultimately, the proof of the rebranding success or otherwise will be in new car sales when the rubber hits the road.”
With a reported $18 billion investment in electric platforms and a commitment to launching three more EVs by 2026, Jaguar’s future hinges on its ability to balance heritage with reinvention. However, does the Type 00 and the unique approach to marketing that is coming along with it represent a visionary leap forward, or is it too far removed from what customers expect from Jaguar?
