In what might be the most spectacular backfire since someone tried to light a cigarette at a petrol station, Jaguar's attempt to reinvent itself as a sort of Silicon Valley fever dream has had an unexpected side effect: it's making people desperately want their old cars. You see, after revealing their new "Copy Nothing" campaign - which appears to have been designed by someone who's only ever seen cars in Cyberpunk 2077 - something rather interesting has happened. Instead of everyone rushing to embrace Jaguar's brave new world of pink electric concepts and minimalist madness, they're frantically searching for used examples of the Jaguars they know and love. Auto Trader UK reports that searches for used Jaguars are up 10% since the rebranding campaign launched. That's right - Jaguar's attempt to make everyone forget about their heritage has resulted in 29 million searches for their heritage. It's like announcing you're going vegan and accidentally causing a rush on steakhouses. The F-Pace is apparently the most searched-for model, followed by the E-Type. Yes, that E-Type - the car so beautiful even Enzo Ferrari had to admit it was gorgeous. I suspect he'd have a slightly different opinion about their new design direction, though he'd probably need to invent some new Italian swear words to properly express it. November 23rd was apparently the busiest day for Jaguar searches since March, which makes sense when you think about it. It's like when your favorite pub announces they're turning into a smoothie bar - suddenly that traditional Sunday roast becomes irresistible. Auto Trader's Editorial Director, Erin Baker, puts it diplomatically when she says it shows "drivers are keen to see what they can still get their hands on from the Jaguar they have always known." Which is a very polite way of saying "people are panic-buying proper Jaguars before they all turn into pink spaceships." The really amusing bit? According to Google Trends, this rebrand has generated more interest in Jaguar than anything else they've done in the past five years. Though I suspect that's not quite the kind of interest they were hoping for. It's a bit like becoming famous for having the worst Christmas jumper at the office party - yes, everyone's talking about you, but not necessarily for the right reasons. And on that bombshell, I'm off to look at used F-Types. Because somehow, a supercharged V8 that sounds like Thor having a tantrum seems more sensible than whatever's coming next. If anyone from Jaguar is reading this - yes, I've seen your new concept. No, painting it blue instead of pink doesn't make it better.
