Daniel Roth wins the "Watch Campaign of the Year" award

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Daniel Roth's ''Remember your first complication'' campaign is the winner of the Watch Campaign of the Year award © Daniel Roth

TAG Heuer's ''Evolution'' campaign is the winner of the Public's Prize © TAG Heuer

Jury's Special Mention prize to Hermès''La Belle Evasion'' campaign © Hermès

Montres Passion magazine has presented its third awards for advertising by watch firms. Joining Daniel Roth on the podium are TAG Heuer for the Public’s Prize, Hermès for the Jury’s Special Mention Prize, and A. Lange & Söhne for the Film & Cyber Prize.

Christophe Roulet

Is the watch "industry" really so inseparable from the aura it cultivates through its various communication campaigns? So it would seem from the awards presented by Montres Passion which train the spotlight on brands’ advertising initiatives. This year, and for the third year running, the magazine has distinguished Swiss firms by giving no fewer than four prizes in this field. They were presented in Geneva at the annual Watch of the Year event. "The awards for advertising highlight the creativity, innovation, precision, beauty and quality of advertising campaigns in the world of watchmaking in Switzerland," the organisers explain. "These third awards were distinguished by the increased number of campaigns in the running, by the thousands of votes from the public, and the introduction of the Film & Cyber Prize for campaigns that use the internet, video, television films, corporate films and other digital media."

Daniel Roth, both contemporary and enduring

The 2009 awards singled out Daniel Roth’s "Remember your first complication" campaign as the winner of the Watch Campaign of the Year award. Montres Passion explains how the campaign was chosen for "its innovative concept, originality, emotional impact and powerful message." The company’s watches are no longer the main focus of the ad, although they remain a reference for the different visuals. As Daniel Roth observes: "As with many watch brands, the products were Daniel Roth’s first idiom. As the brand has progressed, so it has forged its own identity over the two decades of its existence. Now it can look back on itself with more emotion and discover a language that is unique to its values. Daniel Roth is no longer just a product or a watchmaker. It is also a brand that is both contemporary and enduring."

The company goes on to describe the atmosphere behind its new campaign: "The scenes of children caught up in their games and the photographic style take us back 40 years. This creates a dual link between the child and his toy, and between today’s buyer and the child he was and remains. Carried by the "Remember your first complication" tagline, the visual is a reminder that the people who immersed themselves in complex games forty years ago are the same ones who today can understand and appreciate a Daniel Roth watch."

The jury elects "tradition in movement"

Not content to reward the Campaign of the Year, this year the jury was especially magnanimous and gave a Jury’s Special Mention prize to Hermès. Its "La Belle Evasion" campaign smacks of fresh horizons and the urge to escape to something new. The public, meanwhile, chose TAG Heuer’s "Evolution" campaign as the winner of the Public’s Prize. It uses an exploded view to show one of the brand’s vintage watches gradually evolving into a contemporary model.

The first ever Film & Cyber Prize went to A. Lange & Söhne for its "Magic Hands - Experience Saxony Watchmaking Artistry" film, produced earlier in the year for the launch of the Richard Lange "Pour le Mérite" watch. The jury were drawn to "the pure message and the elegance with which handcrafting is portrayed through magic." Indeed, the film begins with some clever sleight-of-hand by a magician who transforms the components into a finished timepiece. The hands of the designer, decorator, engraver and watchmaker are interspersed at different stages to illustrate the creation of the watch. The final close-up shows the hands of Walter Lange, representing the fourth generation at the firm, as he puts on a watch that symbolises "tradition in movement." A notion that will no doubt take pride of place at future awards. ■

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