If you ask me…
I’ve spent a lot of time looking at car brands. The more I look, the more one thing stands out – the reason many car brands have an identity problem is because they have a leadership problem.

Imagine a world where there is only vanilla ice cream. That’s what it feels like scrolling car ads today. Different badges, same thinking, same tone – the same definition of ‘safe’.

I don’t believe for a second that the industry lacks ideas; it lacks the conditions for those ideas to survive.

This isn’t about creativity
In my experience, brands don’t blend in because people aren’t creative.

They blend in because organisations reward predictability over clarity. Because standing out feels riskier than fitting in – even when fitting in guarantees mediocrity.

I’ve seen how quickly a distinctive idea gets watered down once it starts moving through layers of approval. What starts as something sharp becomes something safe. And safe is almost always forgettable.

If a brand doesn’t stand for something internally, it won’t stand out externally. “Right on the inside before right on the outside” isn’t just something I say. It’s something I’ve seen proven – again and again.

Great brands are built on what they refuse
The strongest brands I’ve come across aren’t the most expressive, they’re the most decisive. They say no – a lot. No to things that don’t fit. No to ideas that dilute. No to short-term wins that create long-term sameness.

The question isn’t: “Will this appeal to everyone?” It’s: “Is this unmistakably us?” That level of clarity doesn’t come from marketing. It comes from leadership being aligned and remaining aligned.

When bravery lacks clarity
Take Jaguar and its ‘Copy Nothing’ rebrand. I admire the intent. It takes courage to try and break away from category conventions. However, from where I sit, it shows what happens when bravery runs ahead of brand principles.

In stepping away from its past, the brand also stepped away from the very equity that made it recognisable in the first place. Bravery on its own isn’t enough. If anything, it makes misalignment more likely.

For the sake of one of the best badges in the business, I hope those steering Jaguar heed the lessons from ‘Copy Nothing’ but at the same time remain brave in their thinking. The automotive world would be the poorer for the loss of Jaguar.

When principles drive the product
Then there’s Polestar. A brand I keep coming back to when I think about clarity. Three principles: sustainability, design and performance. Simple, but more importantly protected.

Those principles show up everywhere. In the product, the communication and the experience. Nothing feels accidental. As Polestar put it: “Every yes we say is a result of everything we refuse.”

The first time I watched the Polestar 4 ‘Sightings’ advert I was out of my seat. It’s a tour de force in storytelling – narrative, light, pace, sound, colour, texture and space. In my opinion the best car advertisement in recent times, perhaps one of the best ever.

Polestar have fostered an environment for creativity to flourish. Instead of restricting ideas, total alignment behind immovable brand principles has enabled freedom. The freedom to produce memorable communications which celebrate these very principles. The result is outstanding ‘stand out’.

Confidence is the real fuel
The brands that stand out aren’t louder, they’re clearer, more consistent and more willing to hold the line. In my experience, that only happens when leadership is genuinely confident in what the brand is and what it isn’t.

Because in the end, differentiation isn’t a creative act, it’s a leadership decision.