InspiRAYtion 15 - All criticism must be preceded by possession. The Jaguar canard

There is this conceit that those who critique the Jaguar rebrand cannot afford it.

I’m reserving my comment upon the issue at hand till I see the first new Jag that’s being unveiled.

But to say you can’t criticise something because you will never be an owner is a canard that needs a wee bit of interrogation.

Millions of people watch F1, yet sadly do not have a single car parked in their driveway. Oh dear, how irrelevant they must be.

Porsche a brand that excels at making essentially the same car for the last half century has 99 brand addicts to every 1 owner who may never actually know each model of the 911 released year wise.

For every Ferrari tee wearing 17 year old, chalk up 0.000001 Ferrari owner.

I’m a car guy so these examples flow easier to me. But, let’s look at the world of Art.

I might have something to say about every painting of Monet in the @museeorangerie and yet be only able to afford the tiny set of postcards from the souvenir shop.

I could waffle on about this for a fair amount of time. Bose 901s are the speakers I cherish despite not having a set. I’d love to some day be able to bring home a set of Technics SL 1200s now in their 7th ‘wheels of steel’ iteration. A Lamborghini Countach has been in the garage of my soul since I gained consciousness. Do I have a point of view on the original 1974 edition versus the 25th Anniv Speciale? Of course I do. Do I have a Countach? No.

Brands are our collective aspirations; our hopes and dreams, our line in the sand about quality and choice meaning something to us at a deep level. To attempt to negate that, is to reveal a shocking lack of understanding on what brands mean to people.

Time will tell if Jag will go the Bud Light / Gillette complete annihilation of brand value way. Or, not.

But to negate the feelings of gazillions of fans; that, is a grave travesty.

Read More: InspiRAYtion Ten: What’s the value of what inspires you?