While Jaguar is facing severe backlash for its controversial rebranding campaign, Volvo is receiving widespread praise for its recent ‘family-values’ advertisement, which stays true to the brand’s core principles. Following Jaguar’s misstep, Guillaume Hain, McDonald’s senior marketing director, shared Volvo’s new commercial on X (formerly Twitter), which highlights the safety features of the company’s EX90 model. The ad, lasting three minutes and 46 seconds, was directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, known for his work on Christopher Nolan’s films Oppenheimer and Interstellar.

Hain praised the commercial for breaking the usual marketing conventions. “Volvo posted a 3 min and 46 second ad on Instagram, shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer. It goes against every single rule you can think about as a social lead — length, format, over-produced. Every comment under the ad said it immediately put (the brand) in their consideration set. It’s fantastic,” he wrote.

The ad, lauded for its “pro-family” messaging, underscores Volvo’s dedication to safety, reliability, and family-oriented vehicles. It resonated with viewers, many of whom applauded its focus on “safety, family, and connection.” One user shared, “I just willingly sat through a nearly four-minute commercial and felt perfectly fine with it. Somebody deserves a promotion.” Another added, “Jaguar brand designers punching the air right now,” while a third wrote, “I hope Jaguar takes notes… For real though, this is excellent.”

In stark contrast, Jaguar has been criticized for its recent rebranding, which embraced a ‘woke’ narrative. The luxury automaker unveiled a new minimalist logo and released an ad featuring a diverse cast dressed in bold, futuristic outfits, highlighting the brand’s modern image. However, the ad notably lacked any showcase of Jaguar’s iconic luxury cars, leaving viewers confused. Elon Musk joined the criticism, mocking the ad on Twitter: “Do you sell cars?”

Despite gaining significant attention, the new Jaguar ad has been met with mostly negative reactions. It has accumulated almost 160 million views on X, with the majority of responses expressing confusion or disapproval. Jaguar’s rebrand is part of its strategy to pivot toward an all-electric future, with plans to offer a fully electrified model lineup by 2025 and phase out internal combustion engines.