To celebrate 60 years, Tag Heuer, the luxury watch collaborated with Ryan gosling in the epic 5 min ad where he refused to give back the  Carrera watch after filming a scene, leading to a hilarious chase from the prop “master” Vanessa Bayer in a funny way. 

This story- telling format worked because they allowed Ryan to have complete creative freedom in a very META type, an ad within an ad. 

Marketers tackle a lot of challenges to come up with a good storyline for format like Youtube and this is definitely refreshing especially for a luxury brand like TAG HEUER.

They teased fans with a short clip on their social media that generated 15M views within a week and the poster asking people “How far would you go for the chase” generated almost 92K likes and shares on social media. The reviews were all positive “literally” with comments like “He’s literally me” and “Ryan’s got that The Nice Guys energy here and I love it!!” other comments include “Excellent. My two favourite brands , Porsche and Tag Heuer. Loving my Tag Heuer Carrera Porsche Special Edition watch!  And “ I will take a 5 hour version of this~”

There was one line in the ad that Ryan came up with on the spot, that took the team by surprise in the best way: “Come on, give me one spin around the old dial!

It’s no secret what a HUGE fan I am of Ryan (Oh, the Notebook remains my # 1 and can’t wait to see the Barbie movie!!) I found him be the perfect fit for this ad. His charm, acting style, the use of his famous word “literally” were incorporated. A special mention to his co-star Vanessa Bayer who added comedic fun as well! 

I think luxury brands should use this as a benchmark when creating a campaign, choosing the right influencers or celebrity to feature in their ads. 

While the ad is a little long (5 mins) of pure Ryan fandom, this is similar to Apple “Work From home” where they featured in a mini documentary- style series where the heroes AKA “THe UNDERDOGS” were asked to create “Pandora’s box” with a lot of obstacles from their boss “Vivian” along the way to promote the “whole work from home” thing during COVID times. You will find yourself rooting for the Underdogs the whole time! 

The film generated a WHOPPING 34M views on Youtube. 

What did you think of this approach? 

Takeaways to be learned from this kind of story telling format for a luxury brand: 

  • Choose your brand influencer correctly that aligns with your brand values.
  • Incorporate humour when possible. 
  • Out-of-the box thinking for example, an ad within an type of format. 
  • Tease your fans with a short clip on social media before the release of the “film”.
  • Choose the right platform in this case Youtube works for longer format types. 
  • Timing is everything, in this case it was to celebrate the brands 60th anniversary.
  • Invest in understanding what works for your brands, conduct research and tease fans.
  • Go big or go home! 

What else would you add to the list?