January 20, 2022

#InspiredByPorsche

Regular readers will no doubt be aware of Jaguar Land Rover’s less than cordial treatment of artists who choose to depict its vehicles in their work. ‘Cease and desist’ letters from the company’s legal department have been dished out like wedding confetti in recent years. Of course JLR has a right to protect its various trademarks but surely having its icons – E-type, Defender et al – continually and artistically celebrated can only be beneficial. Add in the whole replica saga and it’s fair to say the brands have lost some of their hard-earned marketing shine.

However, as it’s a new year, we’re rather keen to focus on more positive things. And we didn’t have to look too far to find a car company whose approach is polar opposite.

In a recent Instagram post, multi-talented artist Jonny Ambrose highlighted a Porsche Twitter campaign, tagged #InspiredByPorsche. Jonny thanked Porsche for kindly featuring his sculptures on Twitter, adding that he was ‘proud to have been chosen as part of their ongoing series highlighting artists and designers whose art is inspired by the rich road and race heritage of Porsche.’ Imagine having a global community of artists actively promoting your brand, for free! – how revolutionary.

Above: Porsche’s tweet promoting Jonny’s work

Celebrating automotive icons is at the heart of Jonny’s art. BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile, Lancia Stratos, Porsche 917, and yes, (whisper it) even Jaguar’s E-type. It’s not hard to see why he’ll be keen to add a few more Porsches to his product line-up.

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Bart Somers, Benedict Radcliffe and Jayson Fong were some of the many artists featured in this campaign. We commend Porsche on this innovative initiative that supports the Arts and small business, all while building brand awareness.

IBP Bart Somers
Above: Note the comment at the bottom, left by Stefan Marjoram, one of the prominent artists on the receiving end of a Jaguar Land Rover ‘Cease and desist’ letter