Tag Heuer Aquaracer Connected Smartwatch

Naomi Osaka arrived at this year’s Australian Open, hoping to turn around a personally-agonizing, very public 2021 challenge to her pro tennis career.

LVMH brand TAG Heuer hoped that their brand ambassador Naomi Osaka would offer positive proof that her special mint green Aquaracer Connected smartwatch was on her wrist, celebrating her return to champion status.

Clearly Osaka could have worn the watch to her championship press conference, had she won the 2022 Australian Open, as the defending champion..

TAG Heuer’s CEO Frédéric Arnault expressed surprise to press that Osaka couldn’t wear her gorgeous green Aquaracer Connected smartwatch on the pro-tennis court. And while AOC loves LVMH to death — and we do, based on the heaps of praise we shower over the Arnault family every week on this website — we don’t believe Frédéric Arnault assertion for one nanosecond:

“We tried, but she cannot wear any connected watch while playing professionally, because players aren’t allowed to communicate with others off the court during a match. And this would be considered a communication device,” he revealed.

Nonsense! LOL. We all know that the tennis players can’t wear or carry smart communications devices in play, and AOC refuses to believe that such business masterminds as the folks at TAG Heurer didn’t know that fact. Nice try, guys.

Naomi Osaka Falls to 85 in WTA Women’s Singles Ratings

Unfortunately, 2022 didn’t start off well for Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of the Melbourne WTA tournament runup to the Open, saying that her body was “in shock” over playing demanding tennis matches back-to-back. Naomi needed to rest her pulled muscles, and sports writers noted that Osaka had pulled out of other warmup tournaments and to hold our collective angst.

In reality, the Australian Open didn’t go much better for Naomi Osaka, who suffered a stunning defeat to upstart American Amanda Anisimova in the third round.

A totally-composed Naomi Osaka did make major progress in front of the cameras, highlighting the reality that she actually had fun playing in the Australian Open tournament. Osaka also reminded us that she’s “not God’ and she can’t win every match, no matter how much heart she’s putting into her tennis game.

In that crushing moment for prior champion, we prepared AOC readers for an epic Naomi Osaka fall in the WTA women’s singles rankings. This morning, January 31, 2022 Naomi Osaka fell — not to 84 in the WTA pro tennis rankings — but to 85.

Expanding the Definition of a Winning Woman

Forbes has written that Naomi Osaka’s endorsement contracts do NOT contain any performance clauses. AOC cannot comment on the truth of that statement. However, those of us in business understand that TAG Heuer and many other Osaka sponsors could be dealing with the opportunity to redefine how important winning the game, getting the Oscar and other public affirmation of “winniners” is for their ambassadors.

In the world of endorsement sports marketing, Naomi Osaka is the queen, achieving a financial status that Serena Williams worked years to achieve. If Osaka is a gracious loser, as she was in Melbourne, does that count for as much — or more — than being an actual match-winning champion?

Numerous Naomi Osaka sponsors are looking at the rankings today, wondering what’s next for the tennis pro. Yes, Naomi is “young” but she is also 24 years old. What if she walks from the game, to pursue her business, philanthropic and activism interests?

In a world where millions of people — including Osaka — say winning isn’t everything, brands have an opportunity to walk into that new sunlight, rejecting decades of accrued “wisdom” about followers wanting to back winners.

Stay tuned. Naomi Osaka may come roaring back into the championship circle. Then again, she may not. ~ Anne