Few automotive brands have a storied history comparable to Jaguar Motor Cars. Many consider the
sleek, long-bonnet lines of the 1960’s XKE to be an apex of style for that – or any – era. But in more recent decades, the brand had fallen on hard times, changing ownership and losing its unique voice.
Most recently, the current owners have invested not only in styling but reliable high performance comparable or superior to any brand in its competitive set.
The cars that resulted are truly extraordinary worthy of the marque.
JAGUAR
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But their story of resurrection began years ago when the Ford Motor Company asked Havas to take the struggling brand and unlock the real potential they had under their hood.
Specifically, how to get the brand front and center with contemporary luxury performance car buyers inundated with choices from Porsche, Audi, BMW and many others?
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Justly proud of the great engineering, performance and reliability designed into the new Jags, the Client's first instinct was to feature their vastly improved performance.
We also collaborated with a semiotics team to investigate the cues our target reacted to from a “high-fashion” view. The Jaguar owner cared as much about stitch-count on their leather wrapped steering wheel as they did about how fast their car could go from 0-60mph.
But our sessions revealed another, much more own-able dimension for Jaguar to leverage.
Our Lowdown Protocol conversations with affluent enthusiasts, buyers and collectors revealed Jaguar’s distinctive, most powerful, even irresistible, draw is its elegant, fluid style. A unique dimension born of that XKE legend. The priority that drove earlier generations of Jaguar owners to suffer through less well engineered and reliable iterations of the brand.
Sure, the new Jaguars’ spectacular performance is a welcome bonus. But not the point of the spear. Not where the brand captures the hearts of its devoted fans, past, present and future.
The resulting work reflected a design-first, uber-luxury aesthetic.
This inspired a creative look that felt more like Gucci and less like BMW.
And the results demonstrate the power of leading from strength.
Lowdown helped discover Gorgeous.