The Watch Library Foundation’s new digital exhibit, “A Century of Watch Advertising,” focuses on historic wristwatch advertisements and includes a number of impactful Swiss watch ads spanning over 100 years, starting in 1900. Martine Depresle, co-founder and CEO of The Watch Library, has this to say about the exhibit: “Unveiling the evolution of watch advertising over a century, valorizing our partners’ archives, is a true pleasure and marks the beginning of the cultural heritage discovery narratives offered by the Foundation.” aBlogtoWatch is offering a special poster giveaway for audience members who vote for their favorite watch ads in the exhibit and comment below.
If you’ve never browsed through watch advertisements from decades ago, you are missing out on a very interesting and important part of the watch industry’s history. Marketing luxury watches today takes a very different visual form compared to legacy practices when lots of effort was put into information-rich print ads of various sizes (from half-page adverts to public billboard displays). The personality and character of vintage watch ads are often far more interesting than most advertising produced today. If you really like watches, you will benefit from being exposed to the art, fun, and sometimes silliness that went into the advertising designed to promote them over the last century. The Watch Library Foundation is a caretaker of these historic documents and has the official right to display and share them with the larger community.
To help celebrate The Watch Library Foundation’s “A Century of Watch Advertising,” we are offering the community a chance to win one of three posters of their favorite ads. All you need to do is browse through the exhibition and select your favorite ad while commenting below with some of your takeaway thoughts after seeing the online exhibit. There is a selection of the images from the exhibit in this article, but to view the full “A Century of Watch Advertising” online exhibit, please visit the special mini-site at The Watch Library Foundation.
Once you’ve chosen your favorite historic watch ad, copy and paste the URL of that ad and then enter in the poll below in the “Other” space where you can fill in your own response. We recognize this is a slightly awkward way of entering, so thank you for taking the time. Once you’ve chosen a favorite watch ad, comment at the end of this article regarding your thoughts on the “A Century of Watch Advertising” exhibit on The Watch Library Foundation’s website. You have until October 1, 2024 to enter. After the entry window, three winners will be selected at random from the comments section, and each will receive a high-quality print of a popular advertising graphic from the exhibit. Thank you, and good luck.
