Have IWC pulled off a masterstroke with teenage ski sensation Eileen Gu?

Luke Benedictus

Sudden injuries, nosedives in form, squalid punch-ups in pub car-parks that are snapped by the tabloid press… Suffice to say when a watch brand picks a sporting ambassador it’s a decision fraught with risk.  When Hublot signed Novak Djokovic last August, for example, they were justified in their belief they were partnering with a “living legend” of tennis. Then came all those headlines about the Djoker’s anti-vaxxing stance, forcing Hublot CEO Richard Guadalupe to field a host of unwelcome questions. In short, choosing a sporting ambassador is always a gamble. But one brand with a winning record in this area is IWC, who already have two bona-fide G.O.A.Ts in the form of Lewis Hamilton and Tom Brady. Now they seem to have picked another winner with teenage ski sensation Eileen Gu.

In case you missed it, Gu has just taken the Winter Olympics by (snow)storm after making history by becoming the youngest-ever athlete to win the gold in the freestyle skiing discipline. The 18-year-old sealed victory by landing a stunning double-cork 1620, but her value as a marketing talent lies less in her incredible ability on the slopes and more in her unique cross-cultural appeal.

To recap: Gu was born in San Francisco in 2003 to a Chinese mother and an American father who was largely absent from her life. She became a member of the US freestyle ski team in her teens, winning a gold medal for America in the 2019 World Cup.

But on June 6, 2019, Gu announced on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that she was changing her sporting allegiance. “I am proud to represent China in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics,” she wrote. “I hope the pursuit of extreme sports can be a means through which people in China and the United States can enhance their communication, understanding and friendship…Beijing I am coming!”

This decision seemed to be largely a personal issue of identity – Gu was essentially raised by two Chinese women, her mother and grandmother, and spent part of every summer in Beijing. As a result, she was comfortable with her mixed descent. “When I’m in the US, I’m American,” she has said. “When I’m in China, I’m Chinese.”

Politically, however, this was a far more contentious issue given that Gu was choosing between two superpowers locked in an ideological struggle.  On Tuesday, with the US team still yet to notch a gold medal at the Games, the hashtag #EileenGuTraitor started trending on US social media.

Despite this furore, from a brand perspective, Gu is that rarest of things. She doesn’t just have model looks, bags of talent and nerves of reinforced steel. She’s also a marketing unicorn whose appeal registers with both East and West. Consequently, she’s already picked up an avalanche of high-profile endorsement deals that include Adidas, Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Estee Lauder and Victoria’s Secret.  In fact, Shanghai media outlet Yicai Global estimates the teenager’s commercial earnings topped $22 million AUD last year.

At this stage, IWC look to have made a savvy move in adding her to their list of ambassadors. Gu’s aerial exploits make her a neat fit for their new Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 and could even help turn the watch into a genuine unisex proposition. To help these efforts, the watch brand has just unveiled a new campaign to roll out the partnership using the pictures in this article. IWC are no doubt crossing their fingers that Gu’s soaring popularity will help them tap into China’s market of 1.4 billion.  Their Pilot could be set to soar to a whole new stratosphere.