TAG Heuer brand ambassador Ryan Gosling stars in exclusive short film in collaboration with 'Bullet Train' director David Leitch. photos: TAG Heuer
Swiss luxury watch brand TAG Heuer has announced a world-first by launching a Hollywood action-comedy, The Chase for Carrera, to celebrate 60 years of the iconic TAG Heuer Carrera timepiece.
This offbeat chase thriller stars the brand's ambassador, Ryan Gosling, alongside Vanessa Bayer, and salutes the Carrera’s racing heritage in a no-holds-barred spectacle that perfectly embodies TAG Heuer's motto, “Don’t crack under pressure.”
Produced by David Leitch’s 87 North (responsible for some of the most iconic action films like John Wick, Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train) and directed by Nash Edgerton (Mr Inbetween), Gosling shot The Chase for Carrera while working with Leitch on feature The Fall Guy in Australia.
The film features high-octane action and impressive stunts, ranging from iconic sports cars to heavy-duty trucks to electric production buggies raced through various movie sets in a blockbuster spectacle. Leitch even plays himself as the on-screen director in a nod to the film-within-a-film set-up.
'The Chase for Carrera' manages to be many movies in one, going from adrenaline-fueled chase film to slapstick comedy to mob drama to Western parody and back again.
TAG Heuer's Carrera timepiece was born of the racetrack when it was first created in 1963 by the brand's legendary former CEO, Jack Heuer. The name was derived from the notoriously dangerous Carrera Panamericana race, and the timepiece was designed with readability and simplicity in mind, essential for drivers navigating high-speed bends.
The result was an elegant, uncluttered, sporty, and daring icon that spoke to Heuer’s love of mid-century design and remains timeless six decades on.
“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. And 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,” said TAG Heuer CEO Frederic Arnault.
The offbeat chase thriller sees Gosling on the run from Bayer’s Prop Master as she attempts to take his beloved TAG Heuer Carrera off hiswrist.“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate its 60 years that than with this world-first: a mini Hollywood blockbuster collaborating with the best action-movie director in the world in David Leitch, responsible for such instant classics as John Wick and Bullet Train, and starring Ryan Gosling, not only the A-list icon of his age, but someone who always brings the utmost dedication and creativity to every project he embarks on, and that couldn’t be more true here. Here’s to the next 60,” he added.
The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph is the watch featured in the film, topped with a “glassbox” and sapphire crystal dome that flows seamlessly over the tachymeter scale around the dial edge and into the case, available in a stunning signature blue dial on a blue calfskin leather strap.
The Chase for Carrera manages to be many movies in one, going from adrenaline-fueled chase film to slapstick comedy to mob drama to Western parody and back again.
It contains easter eggs, each one a nod to the Carrera’s illustrious past, and showcases the pioneering spirit of the Carrera that refused to go with the status quo.
“I think what impressed me most was just how fearless and creatively versatile the team at TAG Heuer is. This campaign is wildly different from not only everything we’ve done together, but I think, anything they’ve ever done before,” said Gosling about the project.
“Since the film was about making a film, we thought it made sense that the commercial be about making a commercial,” he added.
This world-first action extravaganza, which comes with its own Hollywood posters and timeless taglines, is the perfect way to celebrate 60 years of TAG Heuer's iconic Carrera timepiece, making it a must-watch film, preferably with the lights out and popcorn at hand.
