Margot Robbie is the kind of the name that would entice even the most cynical editor to open the email. Equal parts sexy and old school Hollywood glamour, it can even be said that Margot Robbie is the closest to being a Monroe of our generation. But when something titled “Margot Robbie joins the Richard Mille family” comes across your inbox it begs the question – Does Richard Mille need New Brand Ambassador Margot Robbie? Probably not but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

Why Margot Robbie for Richard Mille Brand Ambassador? Because marketing to women, involves a whole other perspective beyond raw technical attributes

Does Richard Mille need New Brand Ambassador Margot Robbie? Probably Not but it Doesn’t Hurt

It’s not hard to see George Clooney looking equally suave sipping a Nespresso or professing passion for an Omega Speedmaster, these are two international brands and there’s no doubt that the powers that be for these brands certainly believe in a celebrity’s power to catapult awareness of a brand. But increasingly, there’s a growing amount of business thinking which runs contrary, in part no-thanks to the muddying of waters that are the plague of “influencers”.

Some brands use social media “influencers” to create a perception of popularity-with-peers as a means of driving both engagement and awareness. For a brand like Richard Mille, much of its success on the social front can be attributed to the brand’s cachet and positioning which have become luxurious invitations to over-share on instagram and facebook – typically watch on wrist , some #braceletgame with a fancy car dashboard serving as the backdrop. But in that avenue, social media is being increasingly fraught with users simply spamming a popular hashtag just to get eyeballs for content not necessarily associated with the brand. Thus, the advantage of  Richard Mille owners perpetuating the brand’s positioning in a context of ultra-luxurious trappings of their lifestyle may be free but increasingly, they have become diluted by the masses of people trying to “game the system”.

A cursory search of #Richardmille results in some Richard Mille watch posts but a majority of content from unrelated brands from users trying to game the system through popular hashtags. Richard Mille is tagged in over 700,000 posts

Studying their multiple celebrity endorsements across a wide variety of fields and geographic regions, what Richard Mille has successfully tapped into his the cultural zeitgeist which extends beyond the need for “influence” per se. Richard Mille actually selects celebrities on a criteria of compatibility – larger than life icons who embody a key philosophy in one way or another.

Case in point, before South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk set a new 400m world record at the Olympic Games in Rio, the sprinter had never owned a wristwatch before. But, in the lead up to the games, Richard Mille had sensed qualities of a champion which where synergistic to the brand and delivered a special Richard Mille watch to Niekerk two weeks before the games, one which the sprinter wore to a photo finish. When it comes to special calibres, Richard Mille watches have developed a reputation for being crash-tested in a specific field be it F1 (Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean), tennis (Rafael Nadal), golf (Bubba Watson) or competitive sprinting (Yohan Blake).

Margot Robbie joins a circle of women Richard Mille brand ambassadors who possess a combination of not just requisite sexiness but also street smarts, gumption and business acumen.

Why Margot Robbie for Richard Mille Brand Ambassador? Because marketing to women, involves a whole other perspective beyond raw technical attributes…

Margot Robbie joins a circle of women Richard Mille brand ambassadors who possess a combination of not just requisite sexiness but also street smarts, gumption and business acumen. In other words, Robbie is not just any Hollywood celebrity, she’s one globally admired for reasons beyond her beauty or sexiness,

Robbie got her start on Neighbours, Australia’s longest running soap opera before moving to the United States to pursue her career where she was casted in the critically acclaimed but shortlived Amazon series, Pan Am. Her talents were eventually recognised by Martin Scorsese when he cast her in the 2013 hit, The Wolf of Wall Street opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, instantly catapulting the sultry femme fatale into international super-stardom. Having a pretty face is akin to genetic lottery but when you can parlay your pretty face into a performance which gathers praise from critics and audiences, then your claim to fame stops being just your pretty face but some serious talent.

The producers of Suicide Squad could have gone raunchier with their interpretation of Harley Quinn but when you have Robbie Margot, you don’t have to depend on tawdry

Case in point, the dud that was Suicide Squad. Her portrayal of Harley Quinn was among the only redeeming qualities of that convoluted mess of a movie and considering that she was in a league of veteran celebrities like Will Smith, the youthful actress held her own; eventually, Harley Quinn was one of the most popular Halloween costumes of 2016. One can argue that its Quinn’s raunchy outfit fit made her stand out but they’d be wrong. In fact, it’s a miracle of restraint that Hollywood didn’t go raunchier to sell more tickets.

When she’s not headlining critically lauded sci-fi thrillers like Z for Zachariah (79% Rotten Tomato ratings no less), she’s running her own production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. where she’s currently producing and starring in Josie Rourke’s Mary Queen of Scots, among others.

Richard Mille worked with the Oscar-winning Black Swan actress to produce the RM 19-01 Natalie Portman but the actress has been seen to wear other women’s models of Richard Mille watches

Richard Mille and Michelle’s collaboration began in 2011 with the creation of the RM 051 Phoenix Tourbillon, a symbolic timepiece in which she was intimately active

Thus, the partnership between Margot Robbie and Richard Mille complements the brand (and an upcoming collection) in which Margot will bring her obvious creative energy and her own feminine interpretation to the brand much in the same vein as Natalie Portman and Michelle Yeoh.

Richard and Margot will work together on a collection of which the proceeds will be donated to Youngcare. This foundation is committed to helping young Aussies with high-care needs live life with choice, independence and dignity. Again, a strategy of corporate social responsibility which runs contrary to the popular narrative that ladies only want to complete their set of Hermes bags with a super expensive bejewelled Richard Mille watch, the ideal Richard Mille woman is not just about diamonds, beauty and performance, but also heart.

Margot Robbie wears the Richard Mille RM 037 ATZ white ceramic in her announcement as Richard Mille’s newest brand ambassador

Thankfully, news of Margot Robbie’s appointment as Richard Mille’s Brand Ambassador managed to occupy some valuable instagram real estate for a short while.