Spotlight‘The Chase For Carrera’—TAG Heuer’s Action-Comedy Film Premieres
Celebrating 60 years of their signature Carrera collection, this year, TAG Heuer are marking this milestone in various ways. Aside from an anniversary edition of watches, there are events and other activities planned. And there’s also a Hollywood entertainer called ‘The Chase for Carrera’. Starring actor Ryan Gosling, the film premiered last week, ahead of a London event for Carrera at 60
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Luxury brands are sometimes known to create films to build a narrative that complements their positioning and offerings. We’ve had films from Burberry and Gucci from the world of high fashion, and from IWC in fine watchmaking. While there may be several documentary-style shorts, there are sometimes films that present a dramatized retelling of events related to a brand’s history. IWC’s short film about the brand’s origins, called Born of a Dream—A Man of the Future, features friend of the brand James Marsden playing IWC’s founder Florentine Ariosto Jones. It is however, not common for brands to create a fictionalised narrative for their brand films. So TAG Heuer’s new action-comedy short, called The Chase for Carrera, is rather fresh and exciting. The Swiss watchmakers premiered the mini entertainer this year, as part of their celebration of 60 years of the Carrera collection—their pride and joy.
The Chase Begins
Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, the film presents a fictionalised behind-the-scenes look of a promotional film in the making, starring TAG Heuer brand ambassador, Oscar-nominated actor Ryan Gosling. Gosling, playing himself, is seen as the star of the promotional film, who refuses to return the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph he is wearing to the prop master, played by actress Vanessa Bayer. As Gosling makes a run for it, with the watch in a Porsche, Bayer’s prop master follows him, and the titular ‘chase for Carrera’ ensues.
A Film About A Film About Carrera
“This campaign is wildly different from not only everything we’ve done together, but I think, anything TAG Heuer have ever done before,” notes Gosling. “Since the film was about making a film, we thought it made sense that the commercial be about making a commercial. And they did it with such ease and joy. It was surprising to see a luxury brand known for such serious and artful campaigns, suddenly embrace and showcase such a strong sense of humour.” The film also stars director David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train), as the director of the ad film within the film. The Chase for Carrera itself though was directed by Nash Edgerton. “The team prepped it like a mini action movie. It was always: how can we be creative? How can we be funny? How can we make a golf cart feel energetic and fun and dangerous?” expounds Leitch. “And I think with Nash Edgerton directing, who has exceptional knowledge of how to shoot action, and Ryan contributing to the creative, we did that.”
Carrera In The Chase
The film celebrates the milestone for Carrera, the collection that goes back to 1963, when it was created by then CEO Jack Heuer. Named after the treacherous Carrera Panamericana race of sports sedans, this line has been one of three pillars that represent the brand’s association with motorsports—the other two being the more heritage-inclined Monaco square watches, and the entry-level Formula 1 series. It’s natural that the most common complication in this line is the chronograph, which has been an essential tool used in motor-racing. And the model that Gosling is wearing in the film is the 2023 Carrera Chronograph—from the 60th anniversary edition. It has a domed sapphire crystal glass box that highlights the convex flange of the watch, featuring the tachymeter scale, which recedes inwards into the central portion of the dial. Also featured in the film is the smaller, time-only Carrera, with a vivid pink dial. Another 2023 novelty, this model is seen on the wrist of Bayer, the prop master.
“TAG Heuer has always had a close connection to Hollywood, with our timepieces worn on the wrists of silver screen legends across the decades, from Steve McQueen to our very own Ryan Gosling,” states Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer, about this project. “The Carrera has always been more than just a timepiece—born from the racetrack, it’s a statement of daring and adventure as much as it is the epitome of elegance. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate its 60 years than with this world-first: a mini Hollywood blockbuster collaborating with David Leitch, and starring Ryan Gosling. Here’s to the next 60!”
