https://www.facebook.com/omega/posts/10155574111937211
Buzz Aldrin? Get it. George Clooney? OK. But these two? Who are they? Come on Omega. Is this where my money is going?

 

They are Cindy Crawford's offspring. I believe Omega wants you to think, if you can impress the kidos with your watch you may score with the mom.

 

I think your right on this one....looks like Omega may have just "jumped the shark".....

 

I have to be honest I don't really care who is used as brand ambassador. Had no idea who these two are though until I read the comments, I'm guessing they've got one of these typical Cardasian(no idea spelling, never watched it) type reality shows that everyone seems to love?

 

I very much doubt that the vapid types who watch those "reality" shows would even know what an Omega looks like. More likely to be sporting a Fitbit or something from Cupertino. No, I think the Omega marketing lot have completely lost the plot here...

 

I have to say.. as someone who is self made, sacrificed, and took risks to be able to achieve a level of success that allows me to purchase an Omega (or several), I am really bothered by this choice. The greatest achievement of these two so far has been not dying upon descending through the birth canal.

Then again, I suppose it is a "Crown" for every achievement. Not an Omega.
Omega seems intent on becoming a fashion brand... they're clearly not trying to sell to me anymore...

Brand Ambassadors don't necessarily motivate me to buy, but they should help define the identity of the brand... Rolex aligns themselves with nothing but "best in class"...


This is truly a jump the shark moment...

 

Have you seen the recent PO's we are not the market for those.

 

lol im ded

 

@Superdoc who is a Rolex ambassador, not a easy thing to look up.
Know RF is but who else?

 

The post replying to was removed.



( If you want to be like superman, you have to act like superman )

 

Post I was replying to was removed.

 

I think there is another thread on this but

Jackie Stewart in F1...Cara @Hodinkee

 

@Superdoc a little harsh no? Comedy aside I don’t think we can judge their value just because their parents are rich. No more than anyone should judge your kids because of your success.

For all we know they may be working hard, ( I know she’s a model not sure about him) or are great students or head a foundation or are studying to be doctors or maybe they will find a cure for shallowness, or not. What are the life credits of the Bond cast?.... being really good looking and acting cool? Or the merit of other ambassadors.

These are brand ambassadors for omega / swatch, not the United Nations or the NOBEL foundation. The only ONLY credential needed is to appeal and be cool and make the watches look cool and make people Desire a watch..... not to save the world or deny their privileged upbringing.

As an aside, i find it funny how we tend to hate the privileged for taking advantage of their privilege..... people fight and work hard for what they have as a birth right..... are they supposed to waste it and not take advantage just so the world can relate? Don’t we fight to give our children the advantages we didn’t have? Do you do that so your kids say “no dad, I don’t want to go to that Ivy League school, or beauty pageant or university.... I want to go to public school, eat at McDonalds and work at McDonalds because I have to “keep it real”

 

No I am sure they would still want to sell to you, even if you did turn up at the OB wearing that silly outfit.

I think you are exaggerating a bit, signing on Cindy Crawford's kids is not going to destroy the brand. I believe they are just trying to reach out to younger folk and at the same time do the "we value family values" marketing pitch...my main criticism is actually that they are doing a bit of an indirect rip off of the Patek "passing onto the next generation" messaging we have seen before.

I am sure you know enough about Omega's history to realize that they have always had a diverse product range. They clearly now have to pitch products for an extremely diverse global demographic: e.g. millennials and NASA Speedy heritage collectors. The Speedy Tuesday initiative, which some felt was ridiculous pandering to a specific watch blog, I interpreted as a charming and intelligent gesture for the Speedy fans that have directly / indirectly helped perpetuate the NASA heritage link. FTR I bought my ST because it looks great...one of the nicest hesalite Speedy Pros ever...as much as I admire Robert Jan's work, the #SpeedyTuesday social media link was irrelevant in pulling the trigger.

So, my POV is just focus on what you like from Omega.

If you are worried about wearing a product that reflects your own "crowning achievements" with the wider public...well you know where to go (Rolex, AP and PP). If you want a very good product and something different in terms of design / technology I still think Omega is a great option.

I have seen some of your Grand Seiko photos...so I think you might been recently seduced by Japanese design...hence perhaps a certain falling out of love with Omega.

I am pretty confident that Omega are still going to produce great new products in the coming years. Some we will like, some we won't, but at least I am sure that out of any mid-level luxury watch brand, their shotgun approach means that they will certainly not go just down one specific design path...there will always be something to admire...and something to hate.

 

Oh I do...please, please do post your answer and could you please, please add some pictures? I am sure it is going to be highly amusing.

I believe none of us on the OF really CARE about this at all...some of are just having a bit of fun playing " Multinational Luxury Brand Marketing Prat For A Day"

 

The last thing I want is more people knowing the brand and being aware of the cost of these watches. Retail prices have raised substantially over last five years. What is average price for Omega today, $6k USD?

My wife is specifically asking me what I am posting about. I explain brand ambassador/Crawford's kids, etc. Her response was SMH.

 

in my case, it is my wife who gets bent out of shape with things like this, my response to her is why expend any energy in things we can not control?

 

@STANDY, I sincerely apologize. I know that with the written word, it is hard to pick up on the tonal inflecton, body language etc, but I am truly horrified that it could be perceived that I was making fun of death by birth. I assure you I am being sincere with my regret.
@Nobel Prize I always love your posts, but I'm having a hard time accepting your argument.

My criticism was not on the individuals and who they are, or their worth as people as people. I am sure they could be wonderful human beings. I would have loved to have seen an ad by Omega featuring Cindy Crawford and her children (akin to the Patek theme) but to make them ambassadors is another issue.
Ambassadors duty is not just "to look good and appear stylish". Ambassadors help define the brand identity. They are not like models in a print ads for cologne.
I'm fairly certain the Dali Lama is an unofficial Rolex Brand ambassador... so Ambassadors can do more than pose with watches.

When you look at the tradition of Ambassadors for watch companies (not just Omega/rolex) - they are generally best in class / experts in his/her respective field(s). They have achieved something that has defined their statuses. You state that she is a model, but is she the Top model in north america? You state that he could be studying hard in school, but is he the most celebrated/honored student in modern history?

Sergio, you mention the Bond cast as being nothing more than pretty, but remember, it is the characters being celebrated. Characters with courage, honour, style, grace etc - values that should align with the brand identity and values.

I'm not sure at all about the "keeping it real" Mcdonalds argument. Our success gives our children the opportunities to achieve something for themselves. I would send my children to an ivy league school so that they could become higher achieving, successful people - because just being born into wealth is not an accomplishment. Now I appreciate that the Crawford children may just be following the parents footsteps, and I would be proud if mine went into medicine, but the celebration of that accomplishment comes after graduating Medical school, not just for showing up.

I just feel that it was a bit premature, and disingenuous to "celebrate" the signing of these two as ambassadors based on their accomplishments.

@Riviera Paradise - I agree with everything you say, and agree that it will have a transient affect on me. - I am still very much in love with omega, hence the emotional response -
I will say however, that I find myself at odds with the current direction, and I do find that Grand Seiko has many of the qualities that drew me to Omega in the first place - I have never been about showing off "my crowning Achievements" to others, (I was just illustrating a point in strategy of marketing). But I find that Seiko's Focus on the product, its under the radar, amazing technology, detail and finishing, without being "in your face" is the attraction.. I've always been more drawn to the elegance without the arrogance nature of Omega... but that seems to be changing with the current shotgun approach.


Anyway - I'm happy to leave this issue with as little hard feelings as possible.

 

RJ @Superdoc you raise some valid points. I was indeed interpreting this Omega marketing initiative from the Patek "family" angle, but I agree with you that there are so many examples of 20-30 yr olds that could have served better as inspiration and better define the brand than two upcoming models with just 2M and 500K instagram followers as their CV credentials. Nevertheless I honestly don't think Omega have lost the understated "elegance without arrogance" you mention. Eddie Redmayne or Cindy Crawford's children don't seem brash our ostentatious...they are just uninspiring / boring.

I honestly think these recent ambassadors announcements are a knee jerk reaction to some of Biver's moves with Tag and Tudor's announcements as well as the whole Apple Watch "threat". I don't think Omega knows how to be "super hip and trendy"...and I don't think they should try.

Omega should focus on their core values, which I am sure will resonate well with any demographic....pursuit of excellence in sporting (olympics) and technical fields (space exploration), medicine / charity (Orbis), ecology (Goodplanet). These values are timeless and can, with the correct messaging, be positioned as being relevant to any generation. They can be the luxury brand which symbolizes ethical, sustainable pursuit of excellence...not just "win at any cost".

Ref. Grand Seiko...I have been drooling at some of the new Spring Drive and Hi-Beat models from afar. I do worry about GS technical support living in Rio, in the end I could not pull the trigger on any models I saw during a recent trip to Tokyo. I have been considering purchasing a SBGX291 quartz (50 yr service interval) just to have an example of the superb GS finishing, polishing and dial work, but I am not sure I could live the with the jumping second hand.