In a political season where Americans have voiced their objection to obsessively prioritizing DEI and radical-left woke agendas, one luxury car manufacturer appears to have not gotten the message.
Jaguar recently released a video encouraging breaking molds and urging people to “delete ordinary,” signifying “the new era,” per its webpage.
“Exploring new perspectives. Challenging boundaries” continues the luxury vehicle brand.
What Jaguar may have forgotten is that managing and growing its customer base involves knowing its audience.
Jaguar’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, is firm in stating that Jaguar is trying to find its place in the market, reported DailMail, despite the company’s nearly 100-year heritage.
Hmm…
We only have to look at a few other industry giants in the recent past to understand that the lesson of staying true to your audience is often hard-earned:
Jack Daniel’s
In August 2024, the whiskey brand sobered up and distanced itself from the corporate woke agendas.
Under its parent company, Brown-Forman, it halted participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and canceled other related DEI programs, per The Dallas Express.
Harley-Davidson
Also, in August of this year, Harley-Davidson ended its DEI-focused initiatives amid customer backlash, as reported by The Dallas Express, forcing the company to remember which customers pad their pockets.
“It’s branding suicide,” Vinny Terranova, the owner of Pappy’s Vintage Cycles in Sturgis, South Dakota, told Fox News.
“Moving forward, we will focus exclusively on growing the sport of motorcycling,” Harley-Davidson said, demonstrating a significant withdrawal from sponsorships and affiliations, including ending its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization.
John Deere
In July 2024, John Deere also had to be reminded of the importance of its customers’ trust and confidence. They issued a statement that they had committed to less “socially motivated messages” and “cultural awareness parades” and more to meeting the “needs of our customers.”
Tractor Supply
Tractor Supply Co., the major retail chain specializing in products for rural communities, including agriculture, livestock, and lawn maintenance, announced in June of 2024 that it would be responsive to its customers and dump its DEI commitments, reported DX.
Following the pushback, the company posted a statement on X: “We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart.”
They vowed to “Eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment,” the statement continued.
And, of course, the dethroning of Bud Light
Bud Light’s rebranding debacle of 2023 began when they partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a social media influencer and transgender activist.
The reaction? A massive boycott of Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products that forced the company to lay off hundreds of employees as sales tanked, as reported by The Dallas Express.
In May 2023, The Wall Street Journal claimed, “The brewer recently told its wholesalers that it would buy back unsold cases of beer that have gone past their expiration date.”
Over a year after facing a damaging boycott over its partnership with Mulvaney, Bud Light’s sales have remained stagnant, per USA Today.
