Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to fire the advertising agency behind its disastrous DEI-fueled campaign is a classic case of “too little, too late.”
Reported first by The Telegraph, this move is as obvious as it is overdue. The company’s attempt to rebrand with a woke, car-less ad was a monumental miscalculation, and now they’re scrambling to undo the damage. But let’s be clear: this shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
The ad campaign, launched in late 2024, was a wreck from the start. Brightly colored models (naturally mostly minorities of ambiguous gender), no cars, and a slogan that screamed virtue signaling rather than vehicle sales: “Copy nothing.”
Copy nothing. #Jaguar pic.twitter.com/BfVhc3l09B
— Jaguar (@Jaguar) November 19, 2024
It was a DEI fever dream, ignoring the very product Jaguar is supposed to sell. Critics rightly pointed out that the ads didn’t even feature cars, a glaring oversight that should have cost jobs immediately.
Wokeness and DEI are on life support, and Jaguar’s campaign was a desperate gasp for relevance in a dying era. The public is fed up with reverse-discrimination masquerading as “political activism.” Jaguar should have seen the societal shift coming, but instead, they doubled down on a strategy that alienated their core audience.
The backlash was swift and severe. Just look at some of the comments under that above X post.
Jaguar’s mistake wasn’t just ideological; it was fundamentally bad advertising. The goal of any ad is to sell a product, yet Jaguar’s campaign seemed more interested in making a statement than moving metal. This isn’t activism; it’s incompetence, and it cost the company dearly in reputation and revenue.
Would you ever buy a Jaguar?
The decision to ditch the agency, Accenture Song, is a no-brainer, but it’s also a damning admission of Jaguar’s initial failure. Firing the agency now is like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted. The damage is done, and Jaguar’s brand has taken a hit it may never fully recover from.
In complete fairness, credit where it’s due: Jaguar is finally acknowledging the mistake. But that credit is severely diluted by the fact that the original decision was so staggeringly bad. A company with Jaguar’s history should have known better than to chase woke trends at the expense of its identity.
Weaponized guilt is withering away, and Jaguar’s campaign was a relic of that misguided time. People are tired of being lectured by corporations, especially when those corporations forget their core mission. Jaguar’s ad was a textbook example of how not to advertise, and it’s a wonder it took this long to correct course.
Jaguar’s rebrand aimed to reposition the company as upscale, but it backfired spectacularly. The “Barbie pink” car and the absence of the iconic “growler” cat badge were final nails in the coffin of a campaign that never should have seen the light of day.
The Telegraph’s report highlights Jaguar’s search for a new agency, a process that should have been unnecessary. Accenture Song’s contract runs until mid-2026, per the British outlet, but Jaguar’s impatience with the fallout suggests a desperate need to distance itself from the disaster.
Jaguar’s leadership bears responsibility for this fiasco and tragically offers little hope for the future. They still think “vile hatred and intolerance” is the reason for the backlash, not the fact that people are just exhausted with this pandering, performative nonsense.
Jaguar’s misstep is a cautionary tale for other brands tempted by woke advertising. The public is increasingly skeptical of corporate virtue signaling, and Jaguar’s campaign was a prime example of why.
The firing of Accenture Song is a step in the right direction, but it’s a small one. Jaguar needs to rebuild trust with its audience, a herculean task in any avenue of life made harder by its initial blunder.
In the end, Jaguar’s decision to part ways with the agency is a recognition of reality. But it’s also a stark reminder that sometimes, the simplest common sense is the hardest to find.
Jaguar’s “day late, dollar short” move won’t erase the memory or impact of its bizarre ad, but it’s a start.
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