Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin is the star of a new Internet advertisement for Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer that features him completing various sports-related tasks assigned to him by Maria Sharapova, Cristiano Ronaldo and company CEO Jean-Claude Biver.
In the YouTube video, which lasts a little more than two minutes, Lin is seen entering a basketball court and accessing a touchscreen welcoming him to the "Don't Crack Under Pressure Challenge." In the first task, Sharapova asks him to shoot some hoops using a tennis ball and racket.
"It should be a fun challenge," Lin said in response.
However, he was unable to make a basket with the tennis balls from the 3-point line, despite coming close at times.
"Maria, I think I'm going to leave the tennis to you," Lin said.
In the second challenge, Ronaldo asked Lin to test his skills in regards to soccer, which is also known as football outside the United States.
"I've got something for you, CR7, from JL7," Lin said, who later balances the ball with his feet for a few seconds before shooting it through the basketball goal with his hands.
The final challenge came from Biver, who asked Lin to "match TAG Heuer movements with their parts." Lin completed this task on the touchscreen.
"Keep on pushing, time is running," Biver said to Lin. "Come on, quick, quick!"
The basketball star completed the task in the allotted time.
"Well done, you succeeded," Biver said. "Successful people like you, they never crack under pressure. So, welcome aboard! You are now a member of the TAG Heuer family."
"I don't crack under pressure!" Lin quipped, showing off his special edition Aquaracer watch while balancing a basketball with his finger.
Micah Peters of USA Today thought that Lin's watch commercial was "incredibly awkward."
"Basically, Lin walks into a dimly lit basketball gym, and for some reason, thankfully for him, decided to pack a fully inflated soccer ball and a tennis racket in his duffle bag," Peters wrote.
Peters argued that the commercial felt "a little haphazardly thrown together," adding that TAG Heuer watches "basically sell themselves."
"He also fails the first challenge outright, the second on a technicality because he didn't score the basket with his feet, and it's hard to see if he actually passed the third," Peters wrote.
Despite those shortcomings pointed out by Peters, Lin's watch commercial has received over 350,000 views since it was posted on Friday by TAG Heuer. Most YouTube commenters expressed positive sentiments toward both Lin and the Swiss timepiece maker.
"Great player and role model, too bad the coaches don't see that," Carlos Jadan wrote in the comments. "Linsanity 2 [is] on [its] way!"
"To many [of] those Asian people who love basketball, Jeremy Lin is a true hero," Yuchen Kong wrote.
"Right move [TAG Heuer]," Alex Than wrote. "Jeremy is a model for all sportsmen and sportswomen. Your brand value has just gone up in the eyes of many."
TAG Heuer named Lin as the newest "ambassador of the brand," according to the video's description. The Aquaracer watch series featured in Lin's advertisement can be found on TAG Heuer's website, although it remains unclear whether the model worn by Lin will be sold online or though select authorized shops.
