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Rolex’s Oscars Spot Highlights Its Cinematic History
The commercial featured clips from the most famous films in which Rolex watches were worn, like “Titanic,” “The Pink Panther,” “Frantic” and “Selma.”
A still from the commercial Rolex aired during the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday, highlighting some of the well-known movies in which the watch brand has appeared.
Los Angeles--Think about some of the biggest names in the acting business--Harrison Ford, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman.
If these stars appeared in a movie wearing a watch, what brand would it likely be?
If you guessed Rolex, you’d be right, and the watch brand recently capitalized on its (subtle) place in these actors’ most iconic movies with a 60-second commercial that aired during Sunday night’s Academy Awards.
“Celebrating Cinema” showed clips of various actors and actresses wearing Rolex watches during memorable scenes in well-known movies, including one of actor Bill Paxton, who died Saturday following complications from surgery, in the 1997 smash hit “Titanic.”
According to Hodinkee, most of these actors haven’t had a “commercial relationship” with the brand, meaning they weren’t paid to wear them in the films.
While Rolex did not respond when asked about this statement or if this was the brand’s first Oscars commercial, it is known that this was the first year Rolex served as an official sponsor of the Academy Awards.
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The sponsorship included hosting the green room during the ceremony, offering a space designed by the Rolex Interior Design teams in Geneva for the stars as they went off and on the stage. The watch brand did this at last year’s Oscars as well.
Rolex wasn’t the only jewelry and watch industry organization to air a commercial during this year’s Academy Awards.
The Diamond Producers Association had a 15-second spot during the event for “Runaways,” one of two commercials that debuted last year as part of the “Real is Rare” generic diamond marketing campaign.
According to Nielsen data, Sunday night’s Academy Awards broadcast drew 32.9 million viewers in the U.S., which is the smallest audience for the Oscars since 2008 and a 4 percent drop from 2016.
Even so, the Oscars remain one of the most-watched non-sporting events of the year.
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