Jaguar Doubles Down on Weird

The Bud Light boycott was pretty easy for me since I don't like the taste of it. Given the galaxies of beers from which to choose, it was no sacrifice for me to point my stein in another direction. In fact, I think the last time I looked forward to drinking Bud Light was when I was doing power hits from a keg in the basement of my fraternity house, and that was back in the '80s. In a similar vein, boycotting Jaguar is going to be a lead-pipe cinch since I can't afford a Jaguar anyway. 

But in the progressive mind, appearance is everything, no matter the cost. And if you can look progressive and elitist with a luxury car purchase? Well, that is a left-wing bargain if there was ever one. And by now, you have seen the Jaguar ad that looks like it was shot on an old Original Series Star Trek set and populated by people who look like the Teletubbies after an unsuccessful stint in rehab. PJ Media's Chris Queen broke it down last week.

There was, of course, a backlash, and doom was foretold for the brand. Here's the thing: Jaguar doesn't care. When you breathe the rarefied air of the Jaguar set, the whole point of your existence is that you don't have to care since you will never find yourself riding in a pickup truck, shopping at Wal-Mart, or eating at a backyard barbecue in the first place. The Jaguar set can afford to be woke, not just financially but mentally. They aren't us, which is everything. Furthermore, the normies will eventually come to see the light under the aegis of the cultural betters. The little people can boycott all they want; it won't matter.

Case in point: among the people who were vainly trying to take Jaguar to task was someone who wanted to know if Jaguar had departed its mission (and senses):

Soon you'll see things our way.

— Jaguar (@Jaguar) November 19, 2024

"Soon you'll see things our way?" At the risk of sounding a tad pedestrian, just what the hell is that supposed to mean? One X user opined that the post sounded ominous and implied a threat.

The post from Jaguar should come as no surprise. American Wire points out that the company has been very up-front in advancing corporate DEI policies and cultural transformation. 

This is Jaguar's new Director of Marketing, Santino Pietrosanti. Explains everything. pic.twitter.com/xNPtIF4eea

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 22, 2024

So why the post about seeing things "their way?" Do they know something we don't? Jaguar is a British company, and the nation that gave us the Magna Carta is quickly becoming a case study in totalitarian suppression, so that might be part of the rationale. More to the point, this class of people sees themselves not just as trendsetters but as architects of the future. 

This class of people wants to dictate what is socially and culturally acceptable and thereby dictate the market. It believes that it shapes the world, and if you're going to live in it, you will need to see things its way, even if you drive a pickup and shop at Wal-Mart. These people don't care if you never buy a Jag. They would prefer you didn't.

We almost bought a Jaguar years ago. I kept driving by one on my way home from work with a for sale sign on it. So one day, I called the number, and we went to check it out. 

From the street, it looked like a steal with the snazzy hood ornament and British racing green paint job. Upon closer inspection, the owner had left the windows open for years. It was full of leaves, and the upholstery and dashboard were water-damaged and cracked. On top of that, it barely turned over, and the brakes were so squishy that the pedal seemed like it was going to go through the floorboard. 

It wasn't worth all the money I would have to dump into it to look cool driving a car. As it turns out, owning a Jag still wouldn't be worth it for an entirely different set of reasons.