Hey, Jaguar, Is That You?
Have you seen the new Jaguar commercial? I’m not going to type another word until you see it below.
Call me a advertising square, but I find the most interesting brands are the ones built upon truths, proud of their histories, and who continually find fresh ways to make their respective truths meaningful to their customers. But this new campaign from Jaguar does none of that. In fact, the tagline should be, “Copy Nothing. Forget Everything.” Because the brand has thrown away everything we knew and appreciated about it in exchange for a vacuous claim that they “Copy Nothing.”
Strategic fail.
Though tempting, let’s not start with the execution, let’s instead start with the strategy. I’m sure there were meetings between the client and agency that led to a theme of “there’s no other” or “there’s nothing like it.” Which then led to the creative leap, “Copy Nothing.”
But did they think this angle through?
The word “nothing” is pretty absolute. To copy nothing is to start over completely fresh and with a squeaky clean blank slate. To copy nothing is to ignore everything that exists and everything that has existed before. Does the team realize how much pressure they’re putting on the expectations department?
It’s no wonder they didn’t show the car.
“Copy nothing” is a disruptor strategy, a start-up strategy, and not a 100 year old brand strategy. Coming from Jaguar, it effectively tells its loyal base, “Remember those old taglines ‘The Art Of Performance’ and ‘Don’t Dream It. Drive It’? Yeah, well, forget all that. Now we are a brand who copies nothing.”
Compare this tagline to Mercedes, “The Best Or Nothing.” Ignoring the obvious parallel in structure (a copy?), “XXX Nothing,” Mercedes is promising not just quality but an attitude of quality. That’s a wheel a luxury car driver can get behind. But to say “Copy nothing” is to promise not quality, but to promise, with attitude, there will be nothing familiar. Baby, bathwater, both of you. Out.
So, regardless of the creative execution, I find the strategy behind this ad wrong for the Jaguar brand. But guess what else is wrong?
Skittles meets twin peaks.
I don’t know where to start with the creative. Let’s start with the faces. The mean, angry faces. Go back and watch the spot again and stop it at around 2 seconds in. They look like they’re coming off an elevator from hell. They don’t look like they want to convince me of anything, they look like they want to kill me.
Good start.
But then it only gets weirder. They start walking towards camera like cold androids, still mean, still angry. They do supernatural things reminiscent of a Twin Peaks episode—standing on a wall, spinning without cause—which only confirms, to me anyway, they are in fact from hell. I mean, these lifeless, soulless people make the Terminator look like Robin Williams. Will these droids appeal to the luxury car buyer?
I would give the brand high marks for edginess, but this particular edginess feels too gratuitous and empty to be praised. Especially from Jaguar.
failed strategy + bizarre execution = ?
They could have made “Copy nothing” work, I suppose. The execution could have made it clear that the car’s design is unlike any other, that the components are unlike any other, etc. And “Copy nothing” might have worked.
But this bizarre creative execution from another universe only amplifies the flawed strategy. It’s so strange that when I see “Copy nothing” in this context I can only conclude how serious Jaguar must be about copying nothing. As in, like absolutely nothing.
Will there be wheels? Will there be a radio and speakers? Will there even be seats?
My image of Jaguar has been sorely tested with this ad. And I’m sure I’m not alone.
Copy that, Jaguar?
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for a video consultation through my Intro Page.