Jaguar's managing director is defending the — calling out some of its online critics for their "vile hatred" and "intolerance." In an interview with , Rawdon Glover said the campaign's intended message was lost "in a blaze of intolerance" and that the controversial promotional video was not meant to be a "woke" statement, as some critics have argued. The video, which featured sleek models in brightly colored clothes, didn't feature any cars — notable, the critics said, for a car brand.
The backlash began earlier this week after Jag unveiled a new brand strategy ahead of its , which is expected sometime in 2026. As part of the rebrand, the iconic 90-year-old company — a favorite of British royalty and prime ministers — debuted a modernized typeface for its logo, a new leaping jaguar mark, and a video ad that showed models doing things like painting a wall, holding a sledgehammer, and gathering in a pink desert without any cars in sight. The video generated a rash of criticism on social media with some right-leaning personalities accusing the company of abandoning its history and leaning into "woke" politics.
Glover told the FT he was disappointed by "the level of vile hatred and intolerance" that the video garnered online, particularly against the models it featured, adding that the campaign had received overall "positive" buzz. He said Jag's intent was to be different from other automakers. "If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we'll just get drowned o.
