After a 20-year partnership with Roger Federer, Rolex leveraged its athlete ambassador alliance around the 20-time Grand Slam Champion’s retirement with a 30-second video tribute to his astonishing career which subtly mentioned the watch brand Federer so often promoted and wore by hailing its global brand ambassador’s ‘perpetual legacy’.
The all-Swiss partnership, built on a shared ‘classy’ positioning based around style and elegance reinforced these values in a spot which stated that “there are certain things that numbers can’t convey”. Through narrative and footage, the brand film focused on the beauty, grace and elegance on- and off-court which made Federer “one of the most revered athletes of our time”.
“Numbers will never fully encompass the extent of his legend, continually growing, nor the breadth of his legacy, perpetually inspiring. For his is a greatness that can never be measured. Our heartfelt gratitude to Roger Federer for his impact on the world of sports and for making tennis perpetual”.
Hosted on its home page and amplified across Rolex social platforms, ‘Thank You, Roger’ dropped on 15 September and was supported by additional social content pieces. The campaign was timed to leverage his final ATP match at The Laver Cup in London on 23 September.
We wish to pay tribute to @rogerfederer for his outstandingly successful tennis career, during which he has inspired generations of players, and commend him for the immeasurable impact he has had on the wider world of sport. #RolexFamily #Perpetual pic.twitter.com/CSPOKzWCF8
— ROLEX (@ROLEX) September 15, 2022
Rolex’s tribute also highlighted the impact Federer has had on tennis: inspiring generations of players, while also serving as a role model for the wider world of sport.
Comment
This is a fairly vanilla, yet classy emotional tribute to an athlete ambassador and, after not putting a foot wrong in a 20-year brand partnership, surely it is the very least Roger Federer deserves?
After all, even Federer’s retirement message itself thanked everyone who has helped him be the player and person he is today – even his sponsors: “To my tennis family and beyond, of all the gifts that tennis has given me over the years, the greatest, without a doubt, has been the people I’ve met along the way: my friends, my competitors, and most of all the fans who give the sport its life. I also want to thank my loyal sponsors, who are really like partners to me.
After racking up 2.5m views on the brand’s YouTube channels alone (backed by another 2m across Twitter and Instagram), the social statistics suggest this is a partnership that had certainly paid off for the luxury Swiss watchmaker.
Rolex has been a Federer sponsors since 2006 when the premium watchmaker reportedly signed a 10-year, $15m contract with the 20-time Grand Slam champion. A deal that was renewed for $8m-a-year in 2016.
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