12/30/2025
When great creativity goes wrong.
We often praise bold ideas. But creativity without strategic alignment can be dangerous, especially when it leads brands to chase attention rather than relevance.
Here are three cautionary tales:
👉 Gap’s 2010 logo disaster – dropped a heritage symbol for a generic look, only to reverse the change within a week because loyal customers felt alienated.
👉 Pepsi’s “Live for Now” Kendall Jenner ad (2017) – intended to project unity, it was pulled in <24 hours after being criticized for trivializing social movements.
👉 Jaguar’s controversial EV rebrand (2024‑25) – abstract campaign with no cars and rhetoric that disconnected from its identity coincided with a 97.5 % sales drop in Europe.
These aren’t just funny marketing flops, they’re strategic lessons:
Differentiation without clarity doesn’t win customers, it loses them.
👉 Creativity should enhance your brand narrative, not undermine it.
👉 Don’t change for the sake of change.
👉 Build meaning, not noise.
Strategic clarity always wins.
#BrandStrategy #Positioning #MarketingFail #BrandLeadership #StrategicCommunication
