The courage of clarity

Last week, Jaguar unveiled a reinvention of its brand identity, replacing its iconic leaping cat with a modern, minimalist wordmark (among other colorful assets and messaging) as it positions for an all-electric future and a new audience. 

The digital mob descended with pitchforks.

Everyone seems to be treating this transformation like a brand crash test, watching in horror as decades of heritage collide with modernity. This perspective, however, misses the bigger picture. 

What if this isn’t a crash at all, but a precisely engineered evolutionary brand strategy for survival? 

What we are witnessing isn’t just another rebranding exercise. It’s a calculated strategic pivot by a luxury marque that finds itself at a crossroads. What appears to be brand destruction is actually a masterclass in survival through radical reinvention.

The reality behind the romance

The intense reaction to Jaguar’s transformation suggests we’re witnessing the death of an automotive icon. But what is actually being mourned? 

Despite its storied heritage, Jaguar was a dying brand built on an unfulfilled promise. While their cars were undeniably beautiful, they often concealed mechanical nightmares beneath their elegant exteriors. Positioned as a premier British luxury marque, the reality was more pretense than substance. The truly wealthy weren’t buying Jaguars, and younger affluent consumers had long since gravitated toward Range Rover and German rivals.

By 2019, sales had plummeted 50%. The brand had lost relevance across all demographics, including those currently lamenting its transformation. 

Drastic action wasn’t just an option; it was the only path to survival.

Maintain heritage or face irrelevance

Had Jaguar chosen to retain its legendary Jaguar emblem and complimentary brand elements and continue its heritage-driven narrative, the current backlash to their new identity would likely have been far different. 

Rather than the visceral, nostalgia-fueled criticism we’re witnessing, the outcome would probably have been a dreary procession of headlines documenting another legendary brand’s fade into obscurity.

They were already well on their way to that. 

Jaguar had a different plan. One rooted in strategic reinvention rather than clinging to the past. This is not an ordinary logo change story; instead, it’s a masterclass in bold brand transformation that many commentators completely missed by focusing on what was lost rather than what’s being built.

Seizing a strategic opportunity 

Faced with extinction, Jaguar made a defiant, last-ditch stand. They didn’t opt for incremental change; they rebelliously redefined their very essence, emerging as something bold and revolutionary. 

Jaguar went all in on electrification, which is not only a technological pivot, it’s a complete cultural transformation from what they were. So to fully communicate this story, Jaguar had one option only — ditch the old, and create new. 

In reshaping their identity, by centering their brand around values such as innovation, environmental stewardship, rebellion, fun and excitement, Jaguar is seeking to capture the imagination of a new generation of luxury consumers who crave products that reflect their evolving priorities. It is also a bet on capturing the attention of primed customers for EV cars but have become alienated by the polarizing stances taken by certain rival brands’ leaders.

Yeah but, the ad makes Jaguar look like a fashion brand. 

“Plus, no car was featured in the ad.” 

I’m struck by how many self-proclaimed brand strategists went there. Perhaps they skipped class the day Apple’s legendary 1984 Super Bowl ad showed not a single computer. Apple didn’t market machines – they sold liberation from conformity and individual empowerment. The deliberate absence of the Macintosh made it the most talked-about computer never seen.

Jaguar has played the same masterful card. By withholding the car, they’ve transformed it into an object of desire through imagination.

As for the brand exuding fashion house energy, if cars were purely about transportation, we’d all be driving delivery vans. The vehicle we choose is as much a statement piece as our watch, address, or handbag. Every car is a carefully curated fashion choice and an expression of our individual identities. 

Jaguar simply had the audacity to accelerate full-throttle into this truth. They’ve turned their product’s absence into its greatest presence. 

The car they didn’t show has become the car everyone’s talking about.

The courage of clarity 

Whether Jaguar’s rebrand succeeds or fails remains to be seen. But unlike Gap’s ill-fated, half-hearted attempt, Jaguar’s path forward will require unwavering conviction in their all-in, disruptive strategy as they are currently displaying. Half-measures would not work for a brand on the brink of extinction.

To truly reinvent themselves and present their new brand to an audience based on shared values of disruption and bold reinvention, Jaguar had no other choice than to become the change they wanted to represent. The logo is merely the symbol of that mindset. It’s a demonstration of the greatest expression of brand courage and the most proven path to successful brand strategy: knowing exactly who you are, who you’re for, and perhaps more importantly, who you’re not.