Most watch brands put a watch centre stage in their advertisements, using the timepiece as the “hero”. And the time shown on the dial featured is traditionally 10:10 (the thought is that the watch is “smiling” at you). Sometimes, they come up with a witty tagline (my recent favourite is from Shinola, “The long tradition of Detroit watchmaking has just begun”), but that’s about how it goes. It’s the rare brand that veers from this tried and true formula.
Chanel, never one for doing the things that other brands have done, has shaken up the status quo this year by developing an innovative new ad campaign that features models in positions that mimic the hands of a watch, with the corresponding time shown on the watch next to the image. Shot in black and white and with a playful sense, this is a great new take on time, and should be incredibly effective at getting noticed – one of the challenges for any advertising campaign in today’s media-bombarded world.
“This is a very significant campaign for us because time is an important aspect of Chanel as a brand,” says Nicolas Beau, international director of Chanel Horlogerie. “Time is the tension between the future and the past, and we wanted to express Chanel’s vision of time in watches, that what's precious is now. When you talk about watches, you talk about the time that passes, but Chanel is about the time you are in, the now, it's about enjoying the moment. We are showing the watches our own way, not the classic 10:10.”
I’m not sure that everyone who sees the new Chanel ads will get all that, but it should be interesting to see how the campaign is received. Bravo to Chanel for trying something different, and I for one hope it succeeds.
What do you think of the new campaign? Let us know in the comments below.
And watch the videos of the campaign (links below)!
