After 30 years with the company, the Jaguar CEO submitted his resignation, making 2025 his final year at the company. What caused this sudden change?
Adrian Mardell just called it quits at Jaguar after 30 years with the company, and nobody’s really surprised, given the absolute mess their latest ad campaign turned into. You know the one; that bizarre “Copy Nothing” rebrand that had people scratching their heads and asking, “Where are the actual cars?” The whole thing blew up on social media faster than you could say luxury vehicle, with critics comparing it to Bud Light’s marketing disaster. When your car ad goes viral for all the wrong reasons and people are roasting your brand instead of buying your cars, maybe it’s time for new leadership.
Where are the cars?
Sometimes, advertising goes too far to be unique and artistic, and that seems to be the case with the new Jaguar advertising campaign. Although the Jaguar name is featured in the ad, you mostly see an actual jaguar with people and a couple of SUVs that crash and catch fire. The message of this new advertising campaign is lost. This strange rebrand is much more controversial than anyone might expect, especially since the company went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons. This has led to Adrian Mardell stepping down as the CEO.
A lifetime commitment
As we’ve seen in the past several years, sometimes it only takes one slip to cause an entire career to be done. When you’re the CEO of a company, that can be as simple as approving advertising that doesn’t hit home with a target audience. Mardell has been part of the Jaguar team for the past 35 years, but now it’s all over. He oversaw the strongest profit levels in a decade as CEO, but the most recent marketing campaign has caused him to submit his retirement paperwork, which will take effect at the end of the year.
Controversy is a fine line
Many automakers have launched controversial messages and advertising over the past several decades, but very few have gone as far as the new Jaguar campaign. This new slogan of “Copy Nothing” seems like a good start, but then it goes over the top with models in brightly colored, over-the-top outfits. There’s a pink concept car, Jaguar vehicles being crashed or burned, and messages that include “create exuberant,” “live vivid,” “delete ordinary,” and “break molds,” that have caused some problems for the brand.
What’s missing from the Jaguar ads?
It seems like old hat, but the foundational element of advertising for a car company is to show the cars that are coming out. Jaguar has a lineup of new vehicles that could be put on display, but not a single new vehicle is featured in the 30-second commercial. This commercial is a huge flop and way too artsy to be right for a car company. This disaster of an advertising campaign caused Jaguar to look for a new advertising agency, but the damage was already done.
It’s a tough time for Jaguar
Jaguar transitioned to an SUV-only company not long ago, at least for its offerings in the United States, and has put focus on electric vehicles and new platforms. This means some of the previous model S were winding down to make room for new vehicles. It seems when a car company is struggling is the worst time for a controversial advertising campaign, but that’s what happened at Jaguar. This caused the brand’s CEO to tender his resignation, effective at the end of 2025.
Although the ad originally ran in November, and US trade tariffs weren’t in effect yet, the brand’s leadership already knew that some models were winding down. Adding the tariffs to the mix didn’t help and the ad campaign only made things worse. Jaguar reported drops in sales during the three months leading to June because it paused exports to the United States because of the tariffs and the ending of some older models.
Mardell planned to retire
Adrian Mardell never intended to stay in the role of CEO for very long. When he took over the job, he expressed a desire to serve as CEO for three years, which began in July 2023 and runs through the end of this year. That is only six months short of the three years he intended to spend in the role. He began serving as the interim CEO late in 2022, which means he technically will serve for three years in the role.
Turbulence pushes Mardell out
Could Mardell have survived the advertising campaign with bright colors and no cars? Maybe, but he issued his resignation as Jaguar CEO for the end of 2025 amid backlash from the campaign and financial challenges from the combination of ended models and US tariffs. Jaguar began delivering vehicles to the United States after a short stoppage, despite the 25% tariffs imposed on all imported vehicles. Shipments were suspended for a month, but that was probably a month too long.
A successor to Mardell will likely be in place before the end of the year, much the same way Mardell was in place before the previous CEO stepped down. What will Jaguar look like in the next few years? Hopefully, not like the ad that was a huge bust.