End of an Era - Changing of the Guard

There was quite a funny bit of news this week when Jaguar released their new woke car advert that went down like a lead balloon among their core customer set and they were badly ridiculed mostly everywhere except on Bluesky.

I could imagine the ridicule this advert would get on Top Gear by Jeremy Clarkson who probably epitomises the brands core customer market. However, it also got me thinking that the suicide of this once famous brand is part of the ending of the Boomer era and Im not sure it is being replaced by anything much better if this advert is anything to go by.

The England of old is not so much to be found in the cities, but is/was still quite vibrant in the countryside as there is a big divide between city dwellers and countryside folk.

When on a stag hunt once, the country people were always laughing about how city people would come out to the countryside once a month or two months and start telling them how to live and then return to their cities.

This signalling of the ending of the Boomer era hit me quite hard when my father told me that someone affectionately called The General had passed away and the estate that my father lived on in a small cottage would then be sold. You get used to things and expect people and things to carry on as it used to always be.

Coming back to the Jaguar brand, my father received an old jag when his father passed away and I remember how much he cherished that old car. Part as memory of his father, but also the happiness and pride of driving a jaguar, even though it had connotations of someone being wealthy. He eventually parted ways with it as it became too expensive to repair and maintain.

Reaction to the new Jaguar advert

The new modern jags have followed that trend of some of the classic jags and have had the status symbol that you have more money than someone else, but I am not sure how that would continue now. Did Jaguar change direction because the old guard are disappearing and those values don't hold true anymore? Or are they still desirable?

Probably my favourite car advert is the Land Rover one for the Range Rover Sport where they climb the heavens gate. Now this is an amazing advert that really promotes the brand and although it was made 6 years ago, would something like this still be relevant today? Land Rover are another British brand and it remains to be seen if they will follow the same path as Jaguar.

I do like modern things myself, such as furniture, kitchens utensils etc., I guess that is a gen X thing what with the popularity of Ikea. However, my parents would never shop there and would have classic furniture made from solid wood, an open fire and a farmers style kitchen table.

I do appreciate those things though, it is a lovely novelty to visit them and drink tea in old style tea cups and keep warm in front of a fire instead of floor heating. When my parents visit, they cant stand the heat of modern houses, does this mean they are more rugged than us?

Will Jaguar stand by their rebranding or even survive it? It remains to be seen, but with the Boomer era ending, it looks like we are having a new start in many areas.

Thanks for reading.

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