Jaguar just announced a rebrand – what does this mean for heritage brands and consumer identity?
Heritage brands like Jaguar and Campbell’s possess an identity that makes an impression on the consumers that engage with them – so where does rebranding leave these iconic companies and their fans?
When Katja Vogt considers a Jaguar, she pictures a British-made car purring confidently along the Italian coastline – a vision of familiarity that conveys “that dreaming, longing feeling we all love.”
She’s not sure what to think about Jaguar now after the 89-year-old company announced a radical rebranding this week that featured loud colours and androgynous people – but no cars. Jaguar, the company says, will now be JaGUar. It will produce only electric vehicles beginning in 2026.
And say goodbye to British racing green, Cotswold Blue and black. JaGUar’s colours are henceforth electric pink, red and yellow, according to a video that has received backlash online. Its mission statement: “Create exuberance. Live vivid. Delete ordinary. Break moulds.”
“Intrigued?” @Jaguar posted on social media. “Weird and unsettled” is more like it, Vogt wrote on Instagram.
“Especially now, with the world feeling so dystopian,” the Cyprus-based brand designer wrote, “a heritage brand like Jaguar should be conveying feelings of safety, stability, and maybe a hint of rebellion – the kind that shakes things up in a good way, not in a way that unsettles.”
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