@niche: JAGUAR’S HAIL MARY.003650 – I wish I had more to offer

Editor’s Note: This week, Peter dissects the “reimagining” efforts going on at Jaguar, as the brand leaves its storied past behind with a desperation “Hail Mary” pass aimed at total reinvention. And please note: Peter will be adding commentary at the end after Jaguar’s concept reveal tomorrow night in Miami. In “On The Table,” we report on the resignation of Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis. Then, we detail very big news about an upcoming stand-alone auction for one of the world’s most historically significant racing cars, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, chassis number 00009/54. And we have an update to our new (and quite popular) segment, The Farley Follies, in honor of CEO Jim “Electric Boy” Farley and his chronic mismanagement of Ford. Our AE Song of the Week is “Steal Away” by Robbie Dupree. In “Fumes,” we’re launching a new series, “The V8 Era,” recalling when the emergence of V8 power transformed American sports car racing and propelled it into an entirely new dimension of popularity. And in “The Line.” we’ll have F1 results from the Qatar Grand Prix. We’re on it! -WG

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. Well, that was truly special indeed. The new Jaguar positioning video “Copy Nothing” roared to life last week and damn-near broke the Internet. (In case you missed it, watch it here. -WG)

I watched and read as the intelligentsia and the not-so-intelligentsia – some of the commentary was excruciatingly painful and lame, by the way – weighed in with their assessment of the video, often referring to it as an “ad.” It wasn’t anything of the sort. A more accurate description is that it was a desperation “Hail Mary” pass by Jaguar operatives masquerading as a brand statement video.

On a very basic level, as my former ad colleague Toby Barlow succinctly pointed out, it worked like gangbusters. It did? Yes, it most definitely did. Why? Because absolutely no one had given one thought to Jaguar as a living, breathing car company in years. Let me emphasize that again, in years. Jaguar operatives had managed to run the once-proud brand into the ground with misstep after misstep, and it is no big secret that the brand’s very existence is now hanging by a thread.

I’m not going to wax on about Jaguar’s heroic brand heritage, but suffice to say, it is rich in glorious machines – the SS 100, XK-120, C-Type, D-Type and E-Type, etc. – multiple triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (’51, ’53, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’88 and ’90), and a brand character that used to be the envy of other auto manufacturers.

But that hasn’t been true for years. Tata Motors took over the Jaguar brand and made it part of its Jaguar Land Rover Limited conglomerate in 2013. Jaguar enthusiasts were hoping that this would bring new life to the moribund brand, and despite some glimpses of goodness – the Jaguar F-Type, for instance – this was not be the case. Why? Like other car companies, Jaguar succumbed to the SUV craze and got lost in the toxic haze of optimistic profitability forecasts. That didn’t happen, of course, and in the process the brand completely lost its way in the market. And its poor-quality reputation outlived any real improvements that might have surfaced in its new models, to boot.

So, with all that in mind, Jaguar operatives unleashed its “Copy Nothing” brand positioning video. Visually jarring and off-putting – intentionally so, obviously – with cold, robot-looking people and bold, colorful graphics on a planet of red and pink, the words “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary,” “break moulds” are revealed sequentially, followed by “copy nothing” with the final flourish of “jaguar” in a type face that is not only excruciatingly derivative, but eminently forgettable. (Watch it again, here – WG)

The net-net of all of this? The torrent of “WTF?” commentary was unrelenting and completely understandable. It couldn’t be further removed from anything to do with Jaguar, at least the Jaguar we thought we knew. But that’s exactly the point of all of this. That Jaguar that we once knew is pretty much nonexistent. Whether or not Jaguar operatives screwed the whole thing up over the years – they most assuredly did – isn’t the point. That Jaguar has succumbed to serial incompetence and is not coming back, ever.

So, here we are. Jaguar operatives have emphatically stated that the total reinvention of the brand is at hand. There’s no turning back because there’s nothing left to turn back to. As much as I love reliving Jaguar’s glory days and relish those magnificent and seductive machines of its past, they’re all just relegated to vintage car shows and “historic” driving events. To a new and future generation, Jaguar is starting completely from scratch with a blank computer screen.

Will Jaguar survive and what state will it be in if it does? That remains to be seen, but the only thing we have to go on is the new Jaguar concept, which will be revealed Monday evening (December 2nd). Come back to get my thoughts later that evening.

Editor’s Note: At this point, Peter is pausing his column. He will complete it after he sees the concept Monday evening. In the meantime, please enjoy some of Jaguar’s greatest hits (below) -WG