The Story
The luxury automaker had a problem: its customers were aging. The brand, built on heritage, craftsmanship, and understated British elegance, struggled to attract younger buyers who increasingly wanted electric vehicles and modern aesthetics.
So the marketing team launched a rebrand. Out went the classic imagery — the sleek sedans, the wood-paneled interiors, the sense of quiet accomplishment. In came something radically different: a campaign featuring androgynous models in bright colors, set to electronic music, with the tagline “Copy Nothing.”
The video had no cars in it. None. Not a single image of the actual product.
The brand explained that this was intentional — they were “reimagining” what a luxury car company could be. They wanted to signal that everything was about to change.
Their existing customers heard something else entirely: “We don’t want you anymore.”
Social media exploded with confusion and mockery. Loyal customers posted videos trading in their vehicles for competitors. Industry analysts questioned whether the company understood its own market. The campaign became a case study in how not to rebrand — featured in marketing classes before the product it was meant to promote had even launched.
The company had crossed a threshold. They’d told their core audience, loudly and publicly, that the old brand was dead. But they hadn’t yet proven that the new brand was worth buying into.
The Lesson
Threshold Recognition asks: Am I about to cross a line I can’t uncross?
The automaker treated the rebrand as a marketing decision — a message they could adjust based on feedback. But identity declarations aren’t like ad copy. When you tell your customer base “we’re completely different now,” you can’t take it back. The message is received. The relationship has shifted.
The questions that weren’t asked:
What does our current customer base hear when we say “Copy Nothing”? They hear: your old purchase was conventional, boring, something to be ashamed of.
Is there a smaller test? They could have introduced new design language gradually. Instead, they made a manifesto.
What’s the cost of being wrong? If the new direction fails, they’ve alienated existing customers without gaining new ones. That’s not a pivot — it’s a collapse.
Applying It
Not every rebrand crosses a threshold. You can update a logo, refresh your messaging, modernize your look — all without telling your customers they were wrong to choose you in the first place.
But when you declare that everything is changing, you’re making a promise you’ll be held to. If the new direction doesn’t land, you can’t retreat to the old identity. You’ve already told people it’s dead.
Before you commit, ask: If this doesn’t work, can I go back? Or have I closed that door permanently?
This story is inspired by real events. Names, companies, and details have been fictionalized.