Good :60 ad from Rolex last night during the Oscars. Good but not great.
I wonder how many of these were sponsored (product placement by Rolex), how many of these actors were wearing whatever the propmaster/wardrobe gave them, and how many are the real watches of the actors themselves?
The only one I know for sure would me Paul Newman. Yep – bet that’s his…
I bet most of these (if not all) are NOT sponsored. That’s the power of the Rolex brand – the fact that the watch brand itself signifies something about the character and is in-itself a storytelling device. Sure, other watches can be storytelling devices – the Speedy in Apollo 13, someone counting down something (like an explosion), examples like that.
But most of the placements in this montage or more about the watch establishing something about the character. It’s less of a timing device and more of a status/storytelling device. But isn’t that what luxury watches are about now more than ever?
Wristwatches are never going to be more accurate than the clock on your smartphone. Ever. Watches tell stories – from the story of it’s design an manufacture, the story of someone receiving the watch (a special gift, a response to a promotion, etc.) and each time you put it on.
Back to the commercial. Good, but not great. The build-up – with the swelling music and great movie montage – didn’t payoff at the end.
The tagline at the end is good, but not great:
It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.
Rolex could have come up with something a little better than that, I think…
Am I being too harsh?
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