A widely ridiculed rebrand of Jaguar is designed to “shift it to a whole new space”, according to the historic carmaker’s vocal diversity champion.
Santino Pietrosanti, a leading Jaguar brand executive, has backed efforts to push the century-old company in a new direction despite fears it could alienate traditional customers.
He said in a speech at an LGBT awards event last year that Jaguar was “not just talking about new cars” but about “embracing the full spectrum of human potential and creativity”.
Credit: YouTube/@attitudemag
His comments have fuelled concerns among Jaguar loyalists that the brand wants to ditch its traditional male customers in favour of a more progressive image.
The carmaker on Tuesday debuted a new advert featuring catwalk models with asymmetrical haircuts and brightly coloured, haute couture clothing walking around a Mars-like landscape bathed in bright pink.
Messages such as “create exuberant” and “break moulds” flash on the screen.
The advert, which was released to promote the company’s new logo and wider rebrand, was dubbed a “hallucinogenic sci-fi movie” and has prompted a barrage of criticism online, including from US billionaire Elon Musk.
Although Mr Pietrosanti had no role in the controversial new adverts, he is part of a new breed of Jaguar executives pushing to change the company’s image, communicating with customers about the rebrand and backing the shake-up in social media posts.
In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday, he signalled the radical shake-up at the century-old British marque by promising a “new tone” at the historic carmaker.
“As we look forward, Jaguar will recapture originality as its core and shift it to an all-new space where it can be truly unique,” he said.
“Our symbols of change will make this clear – a new device mark, new tone and image.”
Jaguar has typically had a roguish, masculine image, with traditional adverts from the 1970s showing the cars out in the wild, sometimes draped by female models, with taglines such as “the 12-cylinder animal”, “prowl car” and “nobody’s pussycat”.
However, the company is attempting to push the brand in a different direction.
Jaguar has also revealed plans to scrap its historic “growler” cat logo for its electric cars and to replace it with a new symbol featuring the letters J and L.
The rebrand has been described as a “powerful celebration of modernism” that “seamlessly blends upper and lowercase characters in visual harmony”.
A JLR spokesman said: “As we reimagine our business, we are proud of the great journey of cultural transformation we are on.
“JLR employs over 44,000 people globally and proudly champions diversity, creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome, safe and valued for who they are. Our clients are diverse, the world is diverse, so our business needs to reflect that.”
As part of its shake-up, Jaguar has launched a new “House of Brands” strategy to turn the company into a luxury brand to compete with the likes of Louis Vuitton.
According to Car Dealer magazine, there will now be fewer Jaguar car dealers in the UK as the ones left are upgraded to display “pieces of art” in their showrooms which customers visit as a “destination” to have a coffee.
There will also be a “curated brand store” next to luxury brands such as Dior and Louis Vuitton in Paris.
Handovers of new cars will be at customers’ homes or even “their favourite restaurants”, an insider told the magazine. Buyers will be “younger, more affluent and urban livers” who are “cash rich and time poor”.
Jaguar is also planning to close many of its showrooms, leaving it with a network of just 20 across the country.
Jaguars were often status symbols for wealthy entrepreneurs but there are fears the rebrand will turn off prospective new customers.
The new advert has been widely criticised for failing to connect with the company’s heritage.
Paul Burke, an advertising copywriter, said: “As a piece of creative work it’s rubbish. It’s really cheaply done and there’s no idea in it.
“I know the job isn’t to tell you anything about the car. It could be for anything but I’d put it differently: it could be for nothing. I’ve learnt nothing from that. It doesn’t make me want to buy a Jaguar.
“I don’t want to sound like a stockbroker from the 1970s but Jaguars were wonderful, beautiful cars to have nothing said about them is just awful. There are so many virtues about a Jaguar that you could signal and you haven’t signalled any of them.
“It will do enormous damage to a great brand. We’re laughing at Jags now.”
A JLR spokesman said: “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.”
