One Of My All-Time Favorite Rolex Ads

[Submarino]

Earlier today, I was going through some of the files in my computer and I ran into this beautiful advertisement for the GMT Master that ran on National Geographic back in the 70's.

I have been working in the advertising industry for 16 years now and I feel that advertisements of this nature are very scarce nowadays.

Emotional marketing has almost disappeared and rational marketing/value equation focus is king now. What I love the most about this particular ad is the way Rolex engages the consumer taking him to New Delhi and then all the way to Uganda via a 'true story' shared by an Englishman living in East Africa.

Now what do you think about the superb closing tag line (closing slogan)?

"Owning One is Almost as Satisfying as Making One". Don't you love it?

[Joey_V]

I like the ad a lot... if you take the time to read it, it's definitely a lot better than the one liner ads they have around nowadays.

[R1@160@alltimes]

Classic GMT ad

[Grissom]

Originally Posted by Joey_V

I like the ad a lot... if you take the time to read it, it's definitely a lot better than the one liner ads they have around nowadays.

Back then, we paid attention! Information was sought after and valued! We spent our hard earned money wisely, often paying more for better quality. Now, retail advertising is all about "sound bites" and no longer tries to educate and "create" a new customer base, it seems.....

I miss that aspect of "the old days".....

[Submarino]

Originally Posted by Grissom

Back then, we paid attention! Information was sought after and valued! We spent our hard earned money wisely, often paying more for better quality. Now, retail advertising is all about "sound bites" and no longer tries to educate and "create" a new customer base, it seems.....

I miss that aspect of "the old days".....

You couldn't be more right.

[tulsaokusa]

Great ad. Great post.

[conrail]

[Nalk7]

I'm a marketing major, so reading/looking at awesome advertisements always makes me want to work harder :D thanks for sharing Hal.

[rmfnla]

I remember the Rolex ads from the 60s and 70s; they are probably what got me interested in Rolex in the first place!

My favorites were the ones that featured famous people; Jack Nicklaus, Roger Penske, Jack O'Connor...

Priceless.

Thanks, Hal!

[Jolu]

Nice. Both the "novels" and the one-liners were good in the old days...

[Danand]

Originally Posted by Jolu

Nice. Both the "novels" and the one-liners were good in the old days...

Ok I'll take six of those explorers, with the genuine bracelet, at $195 each. Just let me know how much for shipping.

[Jolu]

Originally Posted by Danand

Ok I'll take six of those explorers, with the genuine bracelet, at $195 each. Just let me know how much for shipping.

You could probably afford a Sub as well...

[smallcandle]

I definitely prefer ads where the consumer was 'challenged' to spend a few minutes reading. Not today, though. People have reduced their attention spans to mere seconds. Life is not quite the same in this 'instant gratification' society...

[rmfnla]

Did you note the price of the Explorer in the ad with the hand? $195.00!!

[Submarino]

Those prices are formidable! I want one of each. It's amazing how inflation, demand and cost of goods sold have affected the price of timepieces. With $210.00 you can hardly have a nice dinner somewhere in NYC.

[Le Chef]

David Ogilvy is dead. No one has time to read long copy ads these days. No one has time to read magazines or newspapers these days either so it's a dead art like tipp-ex. The only people who make time to read ads like this are the people who already own the product. Not a good ROI! If you want people to read this kind of information you put it on your website and guide people to it and let them explore the product and why it's great.

[Randy9999]

[WARVET]

I love the 70s, A five dollar bottle of Jack Dainiels, A Dodge Challenger, A Rolex Sub, Throwing A touchdown pass on your high school football team, scoring with the cheerleaders. Why can't I be young again?

[janice&fred]

Originally Posted by WARVET

I love the 70s, A five dollar bottle of Jack Dainiels, A Dodge Challenger, A Rolex Sub, Throwing A touchdown pass on your high school football team, scoring with the cheerleaders. Why can't I be young again?

cool you're from mass...i originally hail from ct

nice memories of the '70's and mine were similar but different...

a $1 bottle of boone's farm apple wine, breaking into dodge challengers, a timex, no chance of making the high school football team, and peaking at the cheerleaders thru the window of the girl's locker room...

funny how we both wound up here anyhow...collecting rolexes

fred

cebu city

[WARVET]

Originally Posted by janice&fred

cool you're from mass...i originally hail from ct

nice memories of the '70's and mine were similar but different...

a $1 bottle of boone's farm apple wine, breaking into dodge challengers, a timex, no chance of making the high school football team, and peaking at the cheerleaders thru the window of the girl's locker room...

funny how we both wound up here anyhow...collecting rolexes

fred

cebu city

Well four out of five ain't bad, Didn't get the Rolex until I was 46.Wasn't much to do growing up in the country

[BER]

Love ads too ....

[DWdrummer]

Originally Posted by BER

Love ads too ....

Very nice!!!!!!!!!

[Jolu]

Originally Posted by BER

Love ads too ....

Very nice! The one on top with the red frame - is that a Heyerdahl ad?

Would love to have mine over the sofa, but the bathroom seems like that's the universal place to put up vintage ads...

[GradyPhilpott]

Most of those Stauer ads that you see in magazines and in tabloids usually take up to a half hour to read and when you've finished you know a lot about some watch that was made 70 years ago, but very little about the watch they're selling, except that they look a little bit alike.

The long-winded style of advertising hasn't really gone away. I think these long Rolex ads are from a time when Rolex was still trying to get their watches known worldwide among a broad cross-section of the populace.

Today, really all you have to say about Rolex is the name itself.

I think in this case, brevity is a sign of successful marketing.

[Submarino]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

Most of those Stauer ads that you see in magazines and in tabloids usually take up to a half hour to read and when you've finished you know a lot about some watch that was made 70 years ago, but very little about the watch they're selling, except that they look a little bit alike.

The long-winded style of advertising hasn't really gone away. I think these long Rolex ads are from a time when Rolex was still trying to get their watches known worldwide among a broad cross-section of the populace.

Today, really all you have to say about Rolex is the name itself.

I think in this case, brevity is a sign of successful marketing.

Grady, I completely agree with you and I definitely understand how brands evolve and how the communication needs to evolve with them. I am solely talking about how these type of ads were so great and although they might not be needed nowadays (as the brand is so well established), they created a special bond with consumers and a strong emotional connection with their brand.

[sea-dweller]

Nice ad, I love all of the classic Rolex ads.

[multimedia]

Thx for sharing, Hal.

Very nice "copy" on that one!





Cheers,
Joe

[Submarino]

Originally Posted by multimedia

Thx for sharing, Hal.

Very nice "copy" on that one!



Attachment 170348

Cheers,
Joe

Great ad! Did you notice the lack of the Mercedes hand?

[multimedia]

Originally Posted by Submarino

Great ad! Did you notice the lack of the Mercedes hand?

Ah, good catch! (I totally missed that)

This is a great topic. Of course it's easy to get all excited and caught up in this when one does this for a living, but it's great to see so many others pitching in.

Sure, AD's can often be very anoying and something that will just pass us by without us knowing what the "sender" really wanted to tell us. But advertisement can also be something that "moves us" (if done in the right way of course) and can many times be considered to be pop-art (clear evidence of this just from reading some posts in this thread). That's what so great about this field of work!


Cheers,
Joe

[johnbeth]

Hal !!