The Jaguar Land Rover managing director is defending the British luxury car company after its recent rebranding spurred backlash on social media. Jaguar debuted its new logo and slogan, “Copy Nothing,” in a promotional video last week. The ad featured androgynous models in brightly colored, over-the-top outfits, including one man wearing a dress, along with other slogans such as “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary” and “break moulds.” Notably, the ad did not feature any cars in its 30-second run. The video blew up on social media, attracting over 163 million views and over 100,000 comments. Critics accused Jaguar of abandoning its legacy as a high-performance sports car manufacturer with the marketing campaign and claimed the brand had gone “woke.” In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Jaguar Land Rover managing director Rawdon Glover defended the brand relaunch and denied the ad was meant to send a “woke” message. While Glover praised the attention around the campaign as “very positive,” he said he was disappointed by the “level of vile hatred and intolerance” shown by social media commentators towards the models in the video. He claimed the ad’s message had been lost “in a blaze of intolerance.” “If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,” Glover told the FT. “We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes.” The Jaguar rebrand is part of the company’s efforts to attract wealthier customers in its transition to an all-electric vehicle lineup. “This is not a depiction of how we think our future customers are,” Glover told the FT. “We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.” Jaguar previously defended the company’s brand relaunch in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our brand relaunch for Jaguar is a bold and imaginative reinvention and as expected it has attracted attention and debate. As proud custodians at such a remarkable point in Jaguar’s history we have preserved iconic symbols while taking a dramatic leap forward. The brand reveal is only the first step in this exciting new era and we look forward to sharing more on Jaguar’s transformation in the coming days and weeks,” the statement said. Originally published as Jaguar boss defends new ‘woke’ rebrand after ad airs featuring man in a dress, androgynous models
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Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has emphasized that India’s cultural power provides a distinct edge in today’s competitive world, where technological, economic, and strategic strengths often dominate. He highlighted that this cultural power not only enhances India’s global standing but also helps preserve its cultural heritage with dignity, offering the nation a renewed identity. In this context, the Minister stressed the importance of adopting a scientific approach to heritage conservation, ensuring minimal disruption to citizens’ daily lives. He was delivering the inaugural address at the 14 th Foundation Day function of the National Monuments Authority (NMA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Culture, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat remarked that the 200 years leading up to 2014 were marked by a systematic effort to undermine the rich heritage of India. He pointed out that during this period, efforts were made to convince Indians that their art, culture, architecture, science, and knowledge were inferior to Western traditions. The Minister stated, “Over the last 10 years, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, both the development of the nation and the preservation of our heritage have been prioritized. This has led to a global recognition and respect for India’s cultural heritage”. He further emphasized that the renewed focus of the government on heritage conservation, alongside the enhancement of the nation’s prestige, has positively shifted public perception towards the importance of preserving India’s rich cultural legacy. The Union Minister was joined by the Professor Kishor K. Basa, Chairman of the National Monuments Authority, along with other NMA members, senior officials from the Ministry of Culture, the Archaeological Survey of India, and other dignitaries at the inaugural session of the function. During the event, the Minister also released the Annual Report 2023-24 of the NMA, which provides a comprehensive overview of the Authority’s mandated activities for the year. This marked the first such publication by the NMA. The report highlights that, to date, the NMA has laid 55 Heritage Bye-Laws (HBLs) covering 98 Centrally Protected Monuments in Parliament. An additional 53 HBLs covering 57 more Centrally Protected Monuments have also been approved. Furthermore, the NMA has been a leader in harnessing Information Technology to streamline the process of issuing permissions for construction activities in prohibited or regulated areas around Centrally Protected Monuments. This is part of the Central Government’s “Ease of Doing Business” initiative. One of the significant advancements in this area is the implementation of the NMA Online Application Processing System (NOAPS) portal. The portal integrates cutting-edge technology from ISRO through its SMARAC mobile app, which utilizes color-coded zonal maps of Centrally Protected Monuments, facilitating efficient management and monitoring of construction activities. Shri Shekhawat acknowledged that the NMA has achieved significant milestones in its fourteen years of operation. He expressed confidence that the Authority would continue to build on these successes, further strengthening India’s heritage management system. The Minister emphasized that NMA’s efforts have laid a solid foundation, and with continued progress, it will play a pivotal role in preserving and promoting the nation’s cultural legacy for future generations.