Ryan Gosling just signed on as the new spokesperson for Tag Heuer watches. It’s significant because he has never been a spokesperson for anything else before. I am positive his motivation had everything to do with the money that came with the contract, however he’s taking it seriously. Ryan did a piece for GQ on his role as Tag spokesman. And by that, I mean he gave an entire interview on watches and what motivated him to lend his name to a watch brand. I’m stunned at his dedication and I wasn’t bored. Ryan has a way of elevating a subject simply by taking it seriously. Ryan claimed that what made him consider Tag was two things. The first was the brand’s legacy of reliability and excellence. The second, though, was more personal. Ryan said he’s been thinking about time in general more because of his kids. Since his daughters Esmeralda, seven, and Amada, five, are growing up so fast, he said he always has his eye on the clock.
On why he picked Tag Heuer: It was a pretty easy decision, really. Tag is such an iconic brand. I’ve been a fan for a while. On that technical level, they’ve been innovating and leaders for over 160 years. So that made it easier, too. And then on a personal level, I think about time more than I used to. I have two kids and they’re growing up fast. So I keep my eye on the clock more than I used to… For my first Father’s Day, Eva gave me a watch… The brand doesn’t matter. [Laughs] The symbol was what mattered. It meant, you’re on the clock now.
John Glenn convinced him to go Tag, sort of: It wasn’t until I did this film, First Man, where I started to see them differently, because when I would visit NASA, the term “built like a Swiss watch” was used often in relation to their spacecrafts. It felt like that was the gold standard for design and of mechanical artistry. And I just started to appreciate them in a way that I never did before.
I found out that John Glenn brought a Tag stopwatch on one of the Mercury missions because he didn’t trust any other brand. It was there just in case everything else failed. So it just started to make me look at them beyond the surface level.
He didn’t make sourdough during the pandemic: No, no sourdough. Our kids are young, so it was a tough time for them to be separated from other kids and not being able to see family and whatnot. So, we did our best to entertain them. I think Eva and I did more acting in quarantine than we have in our whole careers.
There are a few moments in which Ryan’s natural humor comes through. They didn’t make for great pull quotes, unfortunately, but I find his humor so charming, I love watching his interviews. Especially when he starts giggling. Plus, again, I’m impressed with how much thought he gave this. The bit about John Glenn and the Mercury missions was interesting. Learning something like that would influence my purchases too.
As far as watching the clock because of his daughters, it’s an interesting angle. I watch the clock because of my kids. But it’s more to do with schedules and needing to be places or things being due. It’s a neat tie in to the watch sponsorship, though. For whatever reason, a parent does tend to always know what time it is. It could be because the kids must be picked up. Or the parent can’t wait for the kids’ bedtime. Or, they’re screaming at the kids to get their @$$es to the school bus because I’m not driving them! Or, more poignantly, what Ryan said, the time seems to move a little quicker and we want to make sure we remember the moments we have as they’re happening. I’m still convinced that Tag threw enough money at Ryan to get him to say yes. But Ryan almost has me convinced his girls got him to think about time enough that he decided to become a watch spokesman. Damn, he’s good.
Photo credit: Instagram and Backgrid
I turn 50 next month and I want to get a “grown up watch” for this milestone, so I’ve been paying attention to watches, too. Tag is out of consideration because they are too bulky for what I want, but I do appreciate Ryan’s thoughtfulness about the brand and watches in general.
+1 and Happy 50th to you, Mcmmom!
MCMOM, Happy Birthday. Thank you taking the time and using your time to mentor younger women in a profession that usually operates at zero sum game level. I worked in the big law ecosystem and it was brutal. Enjoy your timepiece, you’ve earned it. 🙂
Congrats on the big day. I still love watches but have never bought a really fancy one (Coach is the fanciest I’ve gone) but I have always thought about wanting to buy a Cartier tank watch at some point. It’s a classic and I could pass it on to my daughter. My big 5-0 is just a couple years away but I’ll have two kids in college then so maybe I’ll be able to buy a good watch to celebrate when they’re both done with college!
Awwww – thank you all! This was so sweet – and unexpected! I appreciate the early birthday wishes!
I have a Tag from the early aughts. Maybe I’ll bring it out.
He’s so so good.
I think about time passing more quickly as my kids get older, specifically about wanting to do more things with them beyond shuttling them places while they are still captive and haven’t escaped to their own lives. I have more exploring the world around us outings lined up than I ever had pre-pandemic.
@ Twin Falls, that’s a wonderful idea!! Do it!! You will treasure it!!
I love him. That’s all.
Have always loved him. I’ve been thinking about time A LOT this year, I’m 39 which is still young but also too old for a lot of things, like travel work visas… , my kids are teenagers now, time feels like its slipping through my hands so quickly… arg…
Similar but different for me. I’m 36. I know that I’m not ancient, but have also had to concede that my chance to emigrate and restart a life is running out of time, etc. I’ve finally got a decent career, with a good pay that allows me to tick a lot of my bucket list items off, but I just wish I had done so much sooner!
I haven’t had children yet and time is definitely ticking on that front.
Gah! Haha
Can you explain what work visas have to do with it though? I know like working holiday visas are limited to 30-35 but these are not meant for permanent employment anyway. I have several older friends who moved to different countries for new jobs and nobody asked them about age. As long as your employer sponsors you it’s fine. Is there something I’m missing?
time is different with kids because it gives you something concrete to mark the passage of it – what’s the saying, the days are long but the years are short? My oldest will turn 10 in the spring and while I cannot believe that it’s been a decade since he’s been born, I also can’t believe that it’s been more than a decade since I was in school, or that I started at my job over a decade ago, etc. It’s like I don’t feel any time has passed and then I look at my kids and realize how big they’re getting and I think what happened, i’m the same age, when did they get so big?
So its weird for me in some ways.
I am another one who wants a nice watch for a milestone bday. I turn 40 this winter and its probably not the time for it, but either for our 20th anniversary in 5 years or my 50th I want a Cartier tank watch I think. Right now I just wear an apple watch all the time but I figure at some point I’ll switch back to a “normal” watch.