Something special

One of the things that most of us would consider as worthy investments would be watches—and the watches that we do consider as worthy are the ones that are worth tens and thousands of dollars.

Among the premium watch brands such as the most well-known and reputable Rolex, is Patek Philippe. The price range is anywhere from  $20,000US all the way up to $400,000US (and that’s only the ones I know of!) It is the only Geneva watch manufacturer to receive the Geneva seal, representing the highest official quality distinction.

Truthfully, I have never even heard of Patek Philippe until I came across one of their ads on the back of my subscription to Forbes magazine. I absolutely loved it. I loved the details of the ad that put everything together.

Not reading much into the picture, I first read their slogan:

“You never really own a Patek Philippe.

You merely look after it for the next generation.”

.. and I thought.. What?!

The two simple sentences intrigued me—it told me that this brand produced products of premium quality, expensive, and the utmost confidence in their craftsmanship.

Next, I studied the picture of the father and son. The entire theme tied in so well with the idea that Patek Philippe is of such high quality that it can become a family heirloom. Some of Selectism‘s blog followers had other very interesting and deeper insights into the ad, such as that the spread gives off a pretentious and snotty appeal, that making it appeal as a heirloom gives consumers a reason to spend and feel less guilty, or even that they are not directing their marketing efforts at where they should (those who could actually afford the watch would simply buy one for both the father and son).

“baaaaad advertising! so pretentious and snotty.”

“While I don\’t like the campaign, I think its insight is smart in a way. It\’s easier to rationalize spending a large sum of money on a watch that you view as a family heirloom rather than just a piece of jewelry. Of course, it strikes me as a very middle class sentiment and think it works against the Patek brand in a way. This is a very exclusive brand; one of the top three watch manufactures. The type of person who can afford a Patek is not overly concerned with the cost of the watch. If they were just trying to sell their entry level watches with that campaign I\’d say it\’s great. But they\’re not. They\’re also trying to sell their high end watches. People who are dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on a watch will not be moved to pull the trigger on a Patek watch purchase based on seeing that campaign.”

…Read more here

Other things I really want to point out about the greatness of the act are the minor details:

1. Right next to the slogan is the watch, showing what Patek Philippe sells

2. Next to the watch are a pair of earrings, showing they also sell jewellery (but not stealing the attention away from the watches)

3. The black and white picture shows the company has a long history with a very established and reputable brand.

4. The Geneva seal

5. The father has a ring on his finger, sitting in the office: Successful man with great family and career

You can find more Patek Philippe ad campaigns right on their website here.

After this ad… I know it will definitely be the brand I will persuade my future husband to go for if ever investing in a watch, or if I could ever be fortunate enough to afford a gift like this for someone special 🙂