Jaguar ushers in new brand identity with bizarre teaser video as it attempts to prepare for an EV-fueled transformation.
Jaguar did an abrupt turn in its marketing with the brand unveiling its new identity.
Jaguar has always been a brand that took pride in promoting its heritage and staying true to its iconic roots. Even when the brand initiated a ground-up redesign of its models in the mid 2010s, the links to the past were still strong even underneath the modernized sheet metal with the most recent iteration of the XJ having an interior that made you feel like you were in an updated study room.
However, with the brand now embarking on a wild gamble that will see it become an all-electric brand catering to wealthy buyers, the brand needed to revamp its identity to help it cater to these buyers. It was not known what Jaguar would do with the brand keeping details of its brand revamp under wraps. This policy of silence ended earlier this morning when the brand revealed its new identity shocking the world with a bizarre teaser video that was released on YouTube and accompanied images of its new circle logo and company font.
Bizarre video ushers in new era
Jaguar’s new logo font attempts to modernize the iconic letter script.
Before we dive into some of the more bewildering aspects of Jaguar’s video, we might as well focus on some of the changes that the company confirmed with today’s bizarre video. The Jaguar name itself for example is still the same but the new lettering capitalizes the J, “G”, and the “U” and uses a mixture of upper and lowercase letters. The capitalized “G” and “U” in particular also attempt to correct a common mistake some buyers make when saying the name with the two upper case letters showing that it’s JaGUar (emphasizing the G and the U) and not Jaguar when being spoken. The letters themselves are also spaced out and have a new font design too. In addition to the lettering, a new circle logo has also made its debut too, with the new circular badging incorporating the J and the R and also getting a gold tint. The leaper is still present as well but it’s now smaller and the cat is patterned on a lined background. The brand is building this new identity on a quote that was said by founder Sir William Lyons which states “A Jaguar should be a copy of nothing.” Now, the company’s ethos will go by “copy nothing,” and it’s printing other marketing lines like “delete ordinary” and “live vivid.”
The vivid portion of that quote is arguably the most controversial part of the video with the footage showing bizarre colored scenes and serious-looking models in wild clothing doing strange actions and posing. And for those assuming Jaguar execs used illicit substances to help find inspiration, Jaguar Land Rover’s Chief Creative Officer Gerry McGovern shot down those rumors in an interview with Car Dealer Magazine stating This is a reimagining that recaptures the essence of Jaguar, returning it to the values that once made it so loved, but making it relevant for a contemporary audience,” He even stated his team “ had not been sniffing the white stuff — this is real,”
More Jaguar Stories
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- Jaguar Axes Nearly all of its Models To Prepare For EV Comeback
What’s Jaguar up to here?
The leaper is now a maker’s mark with the cat now being placed in a lined background.
After you have a few moments to process everything that happens in Jaguar’s video, some core clues begin to emerge. The brand has occasionally been referred to as stodgy-looking (especially when it was a part of Ford’s old Premier Auto Group division) and the wild blast of color and abstract imagery could suggest that Jaguar’s EVs will have new styling elements with some of them potentially never being seen before on a Jaguar model.
This will include the spearhead model which will be a super luxurious GT model. The company released several teaser images of a prototype and while the crude test vehicle was heavily wrapped and had fake panel inserts, the camo was heavily focused on the rear indicating that the GT will have a roofline that’s distinct and stylish. Look for more to be revealed this December when the company will reveal the production version of the EV and perhaps even more abstract expressions of its identity.
Jag will be gone before Trump leaves office. Reminds me of the strange marketing by Infinity when it launched.