Over the past few decades, brand ambassadors have become a crucial facet of the watch industry. For many watchmakers, these partnerships have helped solidify key relationships in the world of sports and other lifestyle industries. When you see an interesting watch on the wrist of one of your favorite athletes, musicians, actors, or models, that already coveted timepiece becomes even more appealing.
Celebrity branding has been a practice since the 1940’s. However, it didn’t become widespread in the watch industry until around the 1990’s. The quartz crisis prompted many watchmakers to seek innovative ways to reach a new and wider audience. Thus, the rise of brand ambassadors began.
TAG Heuer is no exception. In fact, the brand may be inadvertently responsible for the surge of brand ambassadors in the watch industry. Although Steve McQueen didn’t have an official endorsement deal for the brand, he’s arguably worthy of being an honorary brand ambassador, and now, the brand pays homage to him as one of their Heritage Ambassadors.
The TAG Heuer ambassadors has recently taken a unique approach. They’ve divided them into four subsets: Heritage, Sport, Lifestyle, and Art and Music. Even though they all share the challenge of working under intense pressure, each of these divisions has something unique to bring to the brand.
The Heritage Ambassadors are comprised of a group of timeless figures who have influenced TAG Heuer for decades. Alongside actor and motorsport enthusiast Steve McQueen are boxing icon Muhammad Ali and racing legends Ayrton Senna and Juan-Manuel Fangio. What’s particularly special about the Heritage Ambassadors is that each has at least one unique timepiece that’s inspired by their contributions to the worlds of sport and film—for McQueen, the Monaco Automatic Chronograph; for Ali the Carrera Muhammad Ali Special Edition; for Senna, both the Formula 1 and Carrera Automatic Chronograph Senna Special Editions; and for Fangio, both the Heritage and standard Carrera Automatic Chronographs.
Sports and watches go hand and hand, for many out of necessity and for others out of pure passion. Watchmakers like TAG Heuer have developed partnerships with various sporting events for years, serving as sponsors or Official Timekeepers. So, it comes as no surprise they’d extend those relationships into the realm of Sport Ambassadors. From football to surfing, tennis to base-jumping, there are no bounds to the possibilities between TAG Heuer and some of the world’s finest athletes.
Here are the ranks of game-changers who make up their Sport Ambassadors: U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team goalkeeper Tim Howard, Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, Japanese tennis pro Kei Nishikori, Miami Marlins player Giancarlo Stanton, Bayern Munich footballer Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund footballer Shinji Kagawa, New York Rangers goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist, American pro surfer Kai Lenny, Swiss pro free rider/base jumper/wingsuit flyer Geraldine Fasnacht, American pro racecar driver Alexander Rossi, Spanish stock trader Josef Ajram, New Zealand rugby pro Dan Carter, and last but not least, American pro golfer Jessica Korda.
Whether they’re walking a red carpet or caught by the paparazzi in between shoots, you can almost always spot your favorite models and actors sporting a good watch. When it comes to Lifestyle Ambassadors, TAG Heuer is not just looking for the biggest name or the hottest star. They’ve sought out the innovators, the rule breakers, and the true movers and shakers who are setting the pace in the industry: Chinese actress and model Angelababy, American top model Bella Hadid, American actor Chris Hemsworth, Chinese actor Li Yifeng, and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.
Performance, at pivotal moments, is key. This is no matter if it’s the watch on your wrist, the moment you take the stage, or the instant you apply the first coat of paint to your canvas. And that’s precisely why some of the most tremendous artists and musicians have joined the ranks of TAG Heuer’s ambassadors. The brand’s Art and Music Ambassadors are not your run-of-the-mill pop stars or painters. They’re visionaries, breaking down the boundaries of their mediums and moving us into the next generation of art and music. Ambassadors include American rock band One Republic, Columbian reggaeton singer J Balvin, American graffiti artist Alex Monopoly, French EDM DJ David Guetta, and Dutch EDM DJ Martin Garrix.
Image Credits: 1; John Rooney/AP, TAGHeuer.com.
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