Press release
The advertisements feature photographs of Omega's brand ambassadors sporting loupes, the magnifying glasses favoured by watchmakers.
Inspired by Omega's award-winning advertisement
The visuals were inspired by Omega's award-winning “Watchmaker Wanted” campaign, which featured a Greg Williams photograph of George Clooney wearing a lab coat and a loupe.
In one of the new advertisements, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the first man to walk on the Moon wearing an Omega Speedmaster, appears with the headline, “It's not rocket science. But it's close.”
Formula One superstar Michael Schumacher's Co-Axial advertisement describes the steady, constant performance of the movements with the legend, “When faster isn't better.”
All of Omega's high-flying ambassadors are taking part in the campaign including George Clooney, Michael Phelps, Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, Zhang Ziyi, and Sergio Garcia.
The advertising texts have been written with reference to the ambassadors' professional fields of endeavour and an aspect of Omega's Co-Axial movements. Swimmer Phelps's ad talks about the importance of timing. Super model Crawford's copy is about the fashion statement made by the movements.
The other “stars” in the adverts: Omega's Co-Axial calibres
The Co-Axial escapement, introduced in 1999, was the first practical new watch escapement to be developed in some 250 years. The escapement is, in simple terms, the heart of the mechanical watch. It maintains the oscillations of the balance, the watch's regulating mechanism. The Co-Axial Escapement reduces the friction among the parts that transmit energy from one component to another, resulting in longer service intervals, a reduced need for lubrication and, above all, greater stability of the watch's precision over time.
Since 2007 Omega has been producing its exclusive Co-Axial calibres in house comprising more than 200 parts.
“Co-Axial has been a turning point”
Commenting on the advertisements, Omega president Stephen Urquhart said, “The Co-Axial has been a turning point for us. It has given substance to our message. Creating a campaign around the quality of Omegas Co-Axial movements using these pictures of our brand ambassadors is an innovative and eye-catching way to communicate how proud we are that the calibres have been so well received and how confident we are about the role they will play in Omega's future.”
