TAG Heuer is proud to announce the renewal of its partnership with the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing

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I'm guessing Hublot and Richard Mille sponsoring Ferrari is cynical? But Heuer or Longines is okay, because.... history.

Well as you say it's all cynical. But when it becomes extra-obviously so, then it can be damaging to a brand.

 

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Albert-AMG

You really don't know Alpine, and its history in rallying and the 24H of Le Mans… or were you joking? 😉



I think that Renault wants to revive the Alpine sub-brand as Renault's sports brand, just as Mercedes-AMG is for Mercedes-Benz, Abarth for Fiat, Cupra for Seat...

This is the current Alpine A110 street car:

Okay I was joking a bit, I do know about Alpine. But I have never seen this car. I know there was an Alpine in the late 80s?


I think they sold about 3 in the UK, which is probably why I've never seen one. Is the new one even sold in the UK? Probably not, since it needs to be right hand drive.
I presume the Alpine brand is much more well known in Europe since for sure they are not trying to advertise their historical rally team.
😉

 

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imagwai

Well as you say it's all cynical. But when it becomes extra-obviously so, then it can be damaging to a brand.

I still don't get why it's extra cynical. Just because there's no history behind it? Just because some people think Max is a dick? Most F1 sponsors aren't historical, is Google sponsoring McLaren extra cynical?

 

[imagwai]

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I still don't get why it's extra cynical. Just because there's no history behind it? Just because some people think Max is a dick? Most F1 sponsors aren't historical, is Google sponsoring McLaren extra cynical?

For no other reason than because it looks like they're switching around teams based on who they think is going to give them the best exposure. As I said, there will be people will loyalty and affiliation to Tag Heuer because of their past sponsorship of McLaren and history in F1, so switching allegiances will naturally upset a few folk surely.

 

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imagwai

For no other reason than because it looks like they're switching around teams based on who they think is going to give them the best exposure. As I said, there will be people will loyalty and affiliation to Tag Heuer because of their past sponsorship of McLaren and history in F1, so switching allegiances will naturally upset a few folk surely.

That's true, but I think you have a rather idealised view of sponsorship. Is Richard Mille extra extra cynical for sponsoring three different teams? Were TAG being super cynical when they switched from Ferrari to McLaren? Well... technically they stopped sponsoring F1 in the early 80s I think, probably lack of money. Longines took over from Heuer on the 1984 Ferrari at any rate and Ron and Monsieur O bought Heuer so there wasn't really a choice to be made. So the fabled TAG Heuer / McLaren connection was a marriage of self interest as much as anything...

 

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People keep saying that TAG Heuer should sponsor McLaren again, but that would be hyper cynical, wouldn't it?

But it would be worth it see Lando's face when they took away his RM and gave him a F1.

 

[imagwai]

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People keep saying that TAG Heuer should sponsor McLaren again, but that would be hyper cynical, wouldn't it?

It would now, yes. They would be viewed as only going back because McLaren are becoming successful again.

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That's true, but I think you have a rather idealised view of sponsorship. Is Richard Mille extra extra cynical for sponsoring three different teams? Were TAG being super cynical when they switched from Ferrari to McLaren?

No, not at all. I agreed with you that all sponsorship is cynical. It's just that some actions, like chopping and changing teams, risk becoming overtly cynical.

If I look at Richard Mille, I couldn't tell you which team(s) they sponsored. A good sponsorship tie-up I guess is one where you feel the brands naturally fit together, whether that's customer base, shared values, history together, or there's some other match or depth to their support (for instance, providing timing).

And yes, I repeat again, it's all cynical, but surely the idea is to create the illusion of partnership and support.

 

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imagwai

It would now, yes. They would be viewed as only going back because McLaren are becoming successful again.

Agreed.

imagwai

No, not at all. I agreed with you that all sponsorship is cynical. It's just that some actions, like chopping and changing teams, risk becoming overtly cynical.

Okay, fair point. But TAG were with McLaren for thirty years, then they moved to Red Bull.... does that really constitute chopping and changing?

imagwai

If I look at Richard Mille, I couldn't tell you which team(s) they sponsored. A good sponsorship tie-up I guess is one where you feel the brands naturally fit together, whether that's customer base, shared values, history together, or there's some other match or depth to their support (for instance, providing timing). And yes, I repeat again, it's all cynical, but surely the idea is to create the illusion of partnership and support.

Agreed, but I can't help think it's basically just sticking around until it becomes a thing. Like right now Girard Perrigaux and Aston Martin don't seem to be very symbiotic. Whereas maybe Bell & Ross and Renault seemed more cohesive, because they are both French. But if GP sponsor Aston for long enough then maybe it eventually becomes familiar like TAG Heuer and McLaren.

Part of the problem is that apart from Ferrari, Williams and McLaren... the F1 teams are liable to change their names before any such connection can be made. I don't even include Merc in that because they've only been around 12 years and I could see them selling at some point if it suits them.

How do you feel about IWC and Mercedes, does that seem like a natural fit? It's always seemed a bit odd to me... probably cos I don't see IWC as remotely sporty. But then it's not as odd as Moser and Alpine.

 

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Okay, fair point. But TAG were with McLaren for thirty years, then they moved to Red Bull.... does that really constitute chopping and changing?

I perhaps can't fully explain why I saw this move particularly as overtly cynical. Maybe it has something to do with the fact as well that Red Bull are a more modern addition to F1 compared to Heuer having it's roots with it back in the 60s. Coupled with the fact that other than Red Bull being a successful F1 team, I couldn't see an obvious reason for alignment between these two brands.

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How do you feel about IWC and Mercedes, does that seem like a natural fit? It's always seemed a bit odd to me... probably cos I don't see IWC as remotely sporty. But then it's not as odd as Moser and Alpine.

IWC isn't especially sporty, no, but I think the brands are aligned in terms of German precision and engineering.

 

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imagwai

I perhaps can't fully explain why I saw this move particularly as overtly cynical. Maybe it has something to do with the fact as well that Red Bull are a more modern addition to F1 compared to Heuer having it's roots with it back in the 60s. Coupled with the fact that other than Red Bull being a successful F1 team, I couldn't see an obvious reason for alignment between these two brands.


IWC isn't especially sporty, no, but I think the brands are aligned in terms of German precision and engineering.

Would it help to think of Red Bull as still being Jaguar? 😉

 

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Would it help to think of Red Bull as still being Jaguar? 😉

Not really

 

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But what about Jaguar's rich history of Formula 1 racing with legendary drivers like Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine! 😁

 

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imagwai

IWC isn't especially sporty, no, but I think the brands are aligned in terms of German precision and engineering.

Yes, they are both very Germanic.

 

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But what about Jaguar's rich history of Formula 1 racing with legendary drivers like Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine! 😁

To be honest, you reminding me of the fact that Jaguar was bought and renamed Red Bull makes me feel even more cynical about the whole world of F1 sponsorship.

 

[imagwai]

Actually, maybe Red Bull and Tag Heuer are right for each other after all. They both have the same approach to marketing. 😁

 

[Albert-AMG]

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How do you feel about IWC and Mercedes, does that seem like a natural fit? It's always seemed a bit odd to me... probably cos I don't see IWC as remotely sporty

The IWC connection with Mercedes-AMG started 20 years ago, previously to the current Formula 1 team sponsorship:
https://www.iwc.com/gb/en/company/partnerships/mercedes-amg.html

 

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Richard Mille sponsor McLaren, Ferrari and Haas. How they can afford that is beyond me.

 

[imagwai]

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Richard Mille sponsor McLaren, Ferrari and Haas. How they can afford that is beyond me.

By charging a quarter of a million pounds per watch 😝