Watch that video: excellent stuff, right? Everyone loves sharks and watches and dudes in wetsuits. You figure “OK, this is a watch ad, maybe it’s a bit of adventure, some deep sea diving, fine. I’ll watch.” Then you realize it’s some dude in a cage feeding a shark. The last time I cared about that little interaction was when I was about 10 watching 3-2-1 Contact on PBS. But wait, there’s more!
Golf legend Greg Norman has long been known as the Great White Shark due to his blond hair, his fearlessness on the course and his aggressive playing style. The OMEGA ambassador recently ventured to North Neptune Island for a close encounter with the other great white shark — the one of Jaws fame. This video documents their historic underwater meeting.
So we have exactly everything I hate about watch marketing in one easy-to-watch video: some dude who plays a sport, some bullshit hyperbole about said guy (and the shark), and some needlessly expensive trip with said dude so he can show himself wearing the watch.
If I were a regular watch shopper and I had a passing interest in “golf legend” Greg Norman, sharks, or Omegas, I’d come away from this video completely confused. Why is Greg in the water? Why is that shark so sickly? And why would I wear that particular watch while in the water? Is it a golfing watch? A watch for swimming? The model isn’t mentioned at all. It is a perfect storm of missed connections.
The watch he’s wearing is an Omega Ploprof one of the most storied and striking diving watches on the market. I would push Greg Norman in front of a swiftly moving golf cart to get one for myself. But if I didn’t recognize the shape and understand what I’m looking at, I’d think Greg and, by extension, Omega, were both a little cracked.
Watch consumers are massively educated these days. They see through these ridiculous marketing ploys. They are waste of money and need to stop.
