I've always understood having Clooney because well, he's George $@#%ing Clooney.

I've always understood the astronauts because of the space/moon connection.

I've always understood the golfers and olympic athletes since it is a great way to tie in their sponsorships and give some context to their commercials during golf events etc.

However, I don't get this one at all.

I'm sure he is a very good actor but he also had a very good part. Seams to be that to win an Academy Award lately your character needs to have a disability or be gay. Michael Keaton deserved that one. Sorry.

But at the end of the day, this guy is no Clooney who is the definition of a "star" when it comes to Hollywood. Just like James Bond, people want to be Clooney and they will listen to what he has to say and when someone sees him pimping an Aqua Terra or Speedmaster, they will listen.

When is the last time someone woke up and said "man I wish I could be like Eddie Redmayne." ?

My guess is never.

This seems like a total waste of money and resources IMHO.

Again, I'm sure he's a very nice guy and talented actor, but if I'm in the business of selling watches and more importantly, selling a lifestyle, I don't see this guy helping my bottom line.

 

@cuts33
Excellent points...
I admit this was my initial reaction as well...
The ambassador should be inspirational ...
I certainly aspire to be more like clooney and Bond...and you hit the nail on the head with the athletes ...

I'm still trying to understand this decision...maybe he appeals to a certain demographic that they're after...

Maybe @Nicherotors will tell us that he's the George Clooney to Londoners...

But on the surface, something seems missing here...

 

Well, save to say they're not appealing to you, but im telling you for sure he has a very strong presence on fashion and entertainment. At least here in NYC and within the circles i see. So mamy people are aware of what he wears. GQ, Vanity Fair, W magazibe etc readers of which there are many. Fashionistas and wanna be fashionistas. Trend setters and hipsters....and they buy watches too. Globemaster is also a very good choice for him i believe.

He most likely will be nominated or on the front runners for award season on the next few years. Youll see; a lot of attention is coming towards this gent and i guess better to catch him on the way up.

Google his name and fashion or vanity fair or GQ or whtever and see what shows...and i say this not having done it but i will after this post.

Bare in mind that omega diesnt have to find a new ambassador that appeals to you, or me. They already have our business, they need to stay relevant with a new generation of buyers.

 

I rest my case...(drop mike)

if i had the money and means to get a younger geberations best dressed fashion celebrity to wear my brand maybe i would too. Again, most everyone here is already Omegas client, but a few million GQ readers may decide they want to wear an Omega with their very tight jeans.

 

Been to NYC often and have friends and family from there.

Must say, one of the biggest differences I see is that NY hipsters still have the dough for a $5-7K watch.

In Chicago...not so much.

Plus, they'd frown upon an "establishment" brand like Omega and would rather tell you how great their Swatch is not realizing the irony.

Or their new Shinola.

 

I've just googled his name and in images I get a ginger bloke with hamster cheeks. He might be big in the USA but in the UK he's still a jinner with hamster chops.
I get the Daniel Craig tie in and Clooney for his looks. I would have liked Bradley Wiggins to be an ambassador but considering how dirty cycling is it might backfire for Omega.

 

If that is the case, and you could be correct, it very well may be, then I feel even worse....

Style is timeless...fashion is not.

Those images wreak of 'fashion' not style...

We're talking about a brand that has been around since 1848, and transcends the various eras of fashion, bell bottom and skinny jeans alike...

Why ally the brand to someone who's image may be one day an example of dated fashion... His omega will still be on his wrist in those pictures, and omega will still be making watches in that future...

I can't believe that fashion trending is motivating Omega... This years most fashionable is next years passé...
Clooney and Bond transcend fashion because of their timeless style... Even (somewhat) in the Roger Moore era...

I don't think you're wrong, just that there must be more to it...

Of course, @repoman and I both said that "there must be more to it" when the white side of the moon was teased... And it turned out to just be a white ceramic Speedmaster...

 

I think one strategy doesnt take from the other, and i don't think any brand transcends fashion. Even if the brand is around for 150 years those are lived one year at a time and im sure you'll find many other examples of fashion campaigns. Most obvoous is the fact that Omega, along with other centenary brands, still advertise agresively on fashion magazines.

That does not make the claim to quality and iconic brand value any lesser. They run a business, an agresive busines at that and are part of a public company which on one hand makes gives them the backing for technology and brand power, but on the other forces them to render results and growth to boards of investors that couldn't care less about ed white, any side of the moon or any color of the ocean.

30 years ago Clooney was a soap opera star with a mulet. Now he's the symbol of cool and class and rat pack carisma.

Maybe they are betting on redmayne to become that symbol, certainly he has a good start. He is not a playboy or matine idol, he is classic and sophisticated ( in his public persona anyway) he is a respected young star that is not taking his shirt and pants of to get attention, or making a porn movie or a reality show etc etc and he appeals to the early 20's generation which are the buyers of the future.

Not a bad start. I think Ewan McGregor could hve been a better choice for my taste, but i am older.

 

It's all about spread of ages @Superdoc

Clooney ,Craig are old.

So to any 20 year old wanting to be guided by a star like Clooney may be to you.
You don't put a watch on a old guy to sell to young people. All this is Marketing 101

 

My views probably aren't worth much on this thread, but I'm chiming in anyway..

I've never managed to figure out fashion. My repertoire consists mainly of jeans and concert T's, and dressing up means my shirt has a collar and cuffs and my jeans aren't thread bare.

But I like quality. In my jeans, my shoes, my tools, my cars (and motorcycles). I will pay for quality.

I agree with Sergio that, with his acting rep and fashion awareness, they must see some potential of quality in Eddie that is desirable - probably 'staying power' or longevity. If he is good, then like Clooney, he will be around for a while and will grow into the same stature that Clooney carries.

I wonder too if there's anything to him appealing to non-North American markets.

Like my father in law says, "you always gotta have one on the way out and one on the way in" (referring to his multitudinous wives. )

@Nobel Prize , agree Ewan would have been a good choice, but for which line?

 

Same line would have worked fine, Globemaster in my view it has similar appeal as the Explorer.

Aqua terra too but a little less. i actually met him briefly. Je was wearing a dkgital seiko...but that was forbthe vharacter he was playing on Broadway.

 

Ahh yes, the Clooney Mullet... good times... I had spend years of therapy repressing that Memory...

But I think that @STANDY and Sergio are right, it would make more sense to cast a broader net... In the pages of the magazines I read, or Places I go, I may never see Eddie Redmayne Omega... It may always be Clooney on a Motorcycle (don't get me started on that), or just the watch portrait...and the Eddie ads may only run in media aimed at that particular demographic...


I still have an Open mind... Like I said, He seems like a fine young gent, and hopefully will continue to keep his nose clean (looking at you Michael Phelps)...

 

Does not pick this guy.

Sorry but he looks like the kid who always got shoved in his locker in high school.

Maybe to the fans of TAPS (tight ass pants) and $400 leather sneakers even though they don't have an athletic bone in their body he's cool, but I'm not buying it.

Ryan Gossling was mentioned earlier and I'd think he'd be a better fit if a style icon is what they were going for.

 

To be fair, nose was clean.

Lungs on the other hand...

But I mean it's just a plant.

 

If Clooney, Brosnan, Pitt, crawford etc not convincing you it affect value of a watch, try Paul Newman and McQueen. The lesser popular daytona and explorer got so much value appreciation just because association with these 2 gentlemen.

 

Curiously I'd not heard of him till my mother called with excitement a few days ago after she had read about the story in her newspaper. (Normally I make a point of not talking about what she reads in 'her' newspaper!)

Seems my mum and all her girl friends thought it a real coup for Omega to secure 'such a nice young man'.

Then, out of the blue, last weekend I'm told she has spotted a new De Ville having 'just' popped into the local jewellers.

 

There you have it... Elder British Women, and 20-something NYC hipsters in Skinny Jeans... two key demographics on which Omega was clearly missing out...

All bases covered now!

 

Which equates to parents getting Omega,s for graduation presents... Bingo

 

I'm always a bit surprised how much attention/debate the selection of a paid endorser gets to be honest.

 

Yep - that's exactly how I got my first two Omega watches back in the day; high school then college (both Constellations).

Omega were running an advert back then for Significant Moments and that resonated with my dad - even though he wasn't a watch guy.