Following on from a long line of iconic advertising, TAG Heuer is pleased to present its latest brand campaign: Designed to Win. Distilling the essential codes of the company today, it tells the story of mental strength, high stakes performance in the moment of truth, resilience, discipline and relentless pursuit of victory, an inspiring summary of TAG Heuer in its 165th year at the cutting edge of avant-garde innovation.
The new line takes direct inspiration from TAG Heuer ambassador Ayrton Senna, who in 1990 gave a famous interview during which he said “I’m not designed to come second or third, I’m designed to win.” This guiding philosophy is the North Star for the next chapter in the history of TAG Heuer.
Empowering everyone to invent beyond knowledge, surpass their very best, to go beyond our physical capacity, to conquer our fears, these new ideals are at the centre of TAG Heuer today and give the company the direction for the future. Fundamentally, TAG Heuer celebrated the extraordinary potential in all human beings to surpass their own limits and reach their wildest ambitions. Designed to Win encapsulates the very essence of the kairos, the defining, critical moment of truth that is so important in the universe of TAG Heuer.
A momentous evolution
Widely regarded as one of the great marketing forces of the watchmaking industry, TAG Heuer has had a lineage of impactful and memorable advertising campaigns, and a dynamic strategy which has often been imitated but never duplicated.
From its pioneering involvement in sports timekeeping, including presence at the Olympic games in the 1920s, and the inseparable connection to motorsport with Jack Heuer’s visionary ideas resulting in the first logo on a Formula 1® car in 1969, as well as the first team partnership in 1971, the company has always been at the forefront of creativity and pushing the boundaries of communication. From the moment Jack engaged Ries, Cappiello & Calwell in New York to design the first print campaigns in the 1960s, it would herald the arrival of the strong visuals TAG Heuer has become known for.
In 1990 the company would launch “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” a tagline that has become closely connected to the brand to this day, and which provided a platform for incredible growth through the 1990s. With strong black and white visuals complimented by the TAG Heuer logo in colour and composed of athletes including a cyclist, fencer, archer, skier, and drivers like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, at their moment of truth.
1995 would witness the arrival of the next step in the elevation of TAG Heuer with “Success, It’s a Mind Game”, that featured iconic visuals of athletes putting themselves under exceptional conditions. A golfer making the final putt to a hole surrounded by priceless vases, a Formula 1® car racing a fighter jet, sailors competing at the top of a waterfall, a horse rider jumping between buildings, and a rugby team in a scrum at the edge of a cliff, all created arresting visuals.
Other Campaigns would follow including “Inner Strength” in 1998, “What Are you Made Of” in 2002 and “In Theory” in 2014, all of which continued the evolution of the brand, elevating its desirability and clients around the world.
A new era
Designed to Win embodies the new identity of TAG Heuer today, a powerhouse of Swiss watchmaking renowned for its innovation and function led design. Connected to this sense of creation is the idea of success that is instilled in the history of the company, from celebrated athletes who have measured their performance against our chronographs.
Beyond the sense of the individual victory is the connotations of winning together: a team in their championship or collaborators on a revolutionary new project. And the success is not absolute, it can be a win for ourselves, pushing our performance to new heights.
Taking element that have been signatures of the brand identity from the past, including strong black and white visuals, with the products and logos in colour to create exceptional impact, and the focus on the vision of the competitor, the ambassadors of TAG Heuer are featured in incredible photography.
Multi-award-winning actor Ryan Gosling, four-times Olympic medal winning hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, three-times Olympic champion swimmer Summer McIntosh, and multiple European Tour winning golfer Tommy Fleetwood are all shown in a key moment of their professional career.
In addition, three-times Formula 1® World Drivers’ Champion Ayrton Senna, four-times Formula 1® World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen are also featured in celebration of TAG Heuer’s indelible link to Formula 1® as the company returns as Official Timekeeper to the sport in 2025. Further imagery will show cars battling for position on track and round the streets of Monaco as a nod to the company’s official partnerships with the Formula 1® and the Automobile Club de Monaco.
Complimenting the incredible visuals will be a film presenting this new ethos of TAG Heuer featuring voiceover by brand ambassador and Hollywood star Ryan Gosling, with a script that is a testament to what Designed to Win means.
The full campaign will be part of a fully integrated, high value, global media campaign, ensuring people around the world are introduced to, and connect, with the new, winning mindset of TAG Heuer.
“2025 is an incredibly important year for TAG Heuer as we celebrate our 165th year for the company. With exceptional product presented through the year and our brilliant new partnership with Formula 1®: it is the perfect moment for us to reimagine who TAG Heuer is today,” said Antoine Pin, CEO of TAG Heuer. “Encompassing the sense of strength and resilience, discipline and effort that leads to us performing our very best, Designed to Win is a new mantra and defining philosophy as TAG Heuer starts and exciting new chapter.”
“It has been amazing to work with an incredible team at TAG Heuer and DDB Paris bring Designed to Win to life. With such a strong back catalogue of advertising campaigns and our reputation for avant-garde strategy in the watchmaking industry for marketing and communications, we knew we needed to create something special,” said George Ciz, chief marketing Officer for TAG Heuer. “To put our amazing ambassadors and partners at the centre of these striking visuals and celebrate their successes, while inspiring others is the essence of what makes TAG Heuer unique.”
