With a global television audience of over 3.5 billion (3.64 billion at the last summer Olympic Games in London 2012, which is more than the 2014 FIFA World Cup) it is understandable that watch brands are happy if they can reach just a small fraction of the global audience for the Olympic Games. Omega is, of course, TOP dog (TOP standing for “The Olympic Partners” – the IOC’s official designation for the highest level of Olympic sponsorship). But unlike other sponsors the watch brand has a vital role to play and, in addition to its new collection of six Olympic-themed Seamasters, brings with it 450 tons of equipment and 480 timekeepers to ensure timekeeping and TV graphics services.
But other watch brands also have links with the Olympic Games that are either organic (think of IOC member Jean-Claude Killy who, until the start of this year, was a member of the Rolex board and has the honour of having one of the brand’s models nicknamed after him) or cannily engineered (think of the unmistakable asymmetrical Richard Mille RM 59-01 that enjoyed just under ten seconds of fame on the wrist of Yohan Blake as he sprinted to a silver medal in the 100 metres final in London).
As Richard Mille has proved, the key to successful “ambush” marketing during the Olympic Games is being on the wrist of an athlete. Without fail, every one of the famous friends of the brand is seen wearing their watch, whether they are sprinting, playing golf (another of the brand’s ambassadors, Bubba Watson, is the top-ranked golfer for the sport’s return to Olympic competition in Rio) or driving a racing car. Other brands rely more on the image and celebrity of their ambassadors for visibility, which works great for Hublot, when its charismatic ambassador Usain Bolt takes the gold medal in the 100 metres, as he did in London, but can be a blow when the athletes cannot or will not make it to the Games, as is the case for Omega’s golfer Rory McIlroy, and Switzerland’s tennis world numbers three and four Roger Federer (Rolex) and Stanislas Wawrinka (Audemars Piguet) who have both withdrawn from the Games over the past couple of weeks.
Other horological highlights to look out for in Rio de Janeiro are Chinese badminton player Lin “Super Dan” Dan, who you might catch a glimpse of putting Montblanc’s TimeWalker Pythagore Ultra-Light Concept watch through its paces (maybe ahead of a big launch at next year’s SIHH?). Look out, too, for a new horological ambassador in the unlikely field of judo. There may well be some other surprises, since at the time of writing a number of international sports federations still need to decide whether or not to allow Russian athletes to participate in Rio. But regardless of the final entry list, today’s watch brands have a tough precedent to beat in terms of what the Olympic movement likes to call “legacy”. Back in 1924 a certain Louis Charles Breguet, a descendant of legendary watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, won a bronze medal in the eight-metre sailing competition at the Paris Olympic Games…
