11 Remarkable Omega Ads From The Past

We have decided to make the ‘Ads From The Past’ a recurring series of articles where we find the best in watch advertising. In the second article of the series, it’s now time to look at some Omega ads and see what remarkable things we can find. We have selected eleven ads from the past to find out what makes them iconic, funny, or strange.

Omega has a rich tradition in advertising that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century, so there was a lot to chose from when we selected ‘just’ eleven ads for this article. Some of the advertisements are real works of art, and others are very technical and factual to emphasise the features of the watch.

11 Omega ads from the past

It is fun to see where the differences are and how we look at the ads from the past in the current day and age. As there are so many great ads to find, we will probably have to write more articles because just one article doesn’t cover all the fantastic ads that there are out there. But let’s dive in and look at eleven of Omega’s best ads.

1. The Ploprof Is A Good Watch

The first ad from 1970 is about the Omega Seamaster 600 Professional diver’s watch, also known as the Ploprof. It’s one of the most iconic Omega ads in history, and it shows the serious diving character of the Ploprof. Both the images and the text are proof that the Ploprof is made to withstand the ultimate in underwater challenges. Although the watch is a serious diver watch, the headline might come across as an understatement. ‘When you take your life in your hands, you need a good watch on your wrist’ is almost underselling the Ploprof if you look at all the evidence there is proving the Ploprof is not just a good watch. The best professional divers tested it, and it withstood all the tests successfully.

The most remarkable name absent from the ad is Comex.

The most remarkable name absent from the ad is Comex. It does mention Operation Janus by name, which was a project undertaken by Comex divers and for which they wore Omega watches. The Comex name is very much connected to Rolex, but the Comex divers also used Omega watches very successfully from 1968 to well in the 1970s. The Omega and Comex legacy started with the Seamaster 300, and working together with the Comex divers resulted in steel and titanium versions the Seamaster 600 ‘Ploprof’, and it’s ‘bigger’ brother the Seamaster 1000. So saying the Ploprof is a good watch, definitely is an understatement. To me, the Ploprof is one of the ultimate professional diver’s watches not only in terms of performance but also in the way it looks. Almost 50 years after its introduction, the Ploprof is an icon in the watch world because of those reasons and not because it was just a ‘good’ watch.

2. We Are Two Floors Above Rolls Royce

This Omega Titanium ad featuring world-famous tennis player John McEnroe is probably my favourite on the list. Let’s start with the Omega pay-off ‘Omega. When you can have whatever you want’. It’s also featured in another advertisement in the list later on, so it wasn’t just the pay-off for this ad. What I like about it specifically in this ad is that it fits the unique character of both the Omega Seamaster 120M Polaris and John McEnroe. When you think about it, McEnroe and the Seamaster 120M Polaris are a perfect match. The unique looks of the Gerald Genta designed timepiece combined with the use of titanium and gold are an ideal match for McEnroe’s rock ‘n roll character within the dignified world of tennis. They both represent a world of thinking differently and not being afraid not to please everyone.

McEnroe and the Seamaster 120M Polaris are a perfect match.

The thing that does feel a bit weird though is McEnroe’s pose or, more specifically, what’s up with the racquet? Do the broken strings refer to the sentence ‘So it’s extremely light yet incredibly strong’? It probably exemplifies the strength of the titanium material used for the watch, and it is strong enough to punch through McEnroe’s strings. Whatever is maybe, McEnroe looks pretty bored after punching through a set of strings, and that creates a funny ad. And the last detail that is quite remarkable is in the text at the bottom. If you want to get in touch with the Omega US headquarters, you have to write a letter to the address in New York mentioned in the ad. Why the Omega people decided to add that their office is two floors above Rolls Royce, makes no sense. I guess that they were very proud of their prime location but to put it in an ad? But in all its weird glory, I love this ad. It’s McEnroe who wears a Genta designed watch, and nothing beats that! This ad makes me want to buy an Omega Seamaster 120M Polaris even more so over three decades after being published, the ad still is perfect.

3. One Step Of A Man At The Olympics?

This list would not be complete without adding some of the many Moonwatch ads that were made over the last 50 years. This beautiful ad from 1987 is part of the iconic Omega Significant Moments series that were published during the late 1980s up until 1990. The idea of the ads is to portray significant moments in human history as well as our personal history. The series features more personal ads with a couple getting married, a father and child behind a piano, a couple on a carousel, and more historical events like an Olympic photo finish and Argentina becoming the first world champions in polo in 1987.

This last event is a nice one to discuss shortly. Omega has never been a brand closely connected to the sport of polo. Other brands like Jaeger-Le Coultre, Audemars Piguet, and Cartier are more commonly referred to when discussing watch brands and polo. But in the early 1980s, there was a strong focus from within the sport to restore the sport’s Olympic status. Polo was an Olympic sport from 1900-1936, and in 1982 under leadership from Marcos Uranga, Argentine president of the Federation of International Polo, a lobby started to reclaim that Olympic status. And as Omega has been an Olympic timekeeper since 1932, it is not so strange that the world of international polo found Omega as a partner to help lobby for their ultimate goal. A goal the sport reached in 1998 when an Olympic Trophy was handed to Argentina as the winners of the 5th World Championship.

Mentioning the Olympic Games in the story makes little sense.

And we continue with Omega’s Olympic connection in the ad pictured above. The ‘Significant Moments’ series also features an ad showing the moon landing. ‘How is that Olympic?’ I hear you think? As the moon landing is the most compelling story Omega is a part of, it makes sense that this was an essential ad in the series. We see the image of Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon during Apollo 11, with the Omega Speedmaster Professional (ref. 145.0022) in all its glory underneath it. That combination is not only an incredibly strong story, but it’s also Omega’s most famous story they are part of. The thing that makes no sense is that they somehow felt the need in the 1980s the combine it with one of the other big stories, and that is that Omega has been connected to the Olympic Games since 1932. For me mentioning the Olympic Games in the little story makes little sense, and the line at the bottom that Omega is the timekeeper of the Olympic Games in Calgary and Seoul feels weirdly out of place. For me, the two stories are powerful stories that Omega is connected to, but in advertising, it feels weird if you combine the two, as shown above.

4. In All The World, The Most Wanted Man

This ad from 1959 is all about the Omega Calendar Seamaster Automatic. But at first glance, it’s not about the watch at all. Let’s be honest. It’s all about the image of the ‘sophisticated killer’ to the left of the watch. The intensity of his stare and his eyes almost covered by dark shadows make for a pretty intimidating image. I haven’t found out in my quick research whether he is a famous person or just a model for the ad (if you do, please let us know), but he is also featured in another ad for the Omega Seamaster that was featured in magazines at the same time. In the other advertisement, his stare is still intimidating but a lot less dark than in this ad. Although the Seamaster, with its fabulous bracelet, is the star of the ad, his dark counterpart is attracting quite a lot of attention as well.

It’s all about the image of the ‘sophisticated killer’ to the left of the watch.

There are also some lovely little details in the text of the ad. The first detail that stands out is that Omega decided to place ‘Calendar’ before the ‘Seamaster’ model name. It’s a detail that in current times is not likely to happen as the combination ‘Omega Seamaster’ has become synonymous with one of the most iconic watch families in history. The other funny detail is the text placed in parentheses ‘And have you ever seen another watch so modern in design?’. After summing up all the functional qualities of the watch such as the automatic movement, that fact that it’s waterproof, shock-resistant and anti-magnetic, it feels a bit insecure to ask the reader how they think it looks by placing it in parentheses as if it’s less relevant how it seems. In my opinion, Omega should have owned the looks a lot more. One final detail that is nice to read is the price range of Omega watches. In 1959 you were able to buy an Omega watch starting at $75, and the most expensive could be yours for $10,500, which is quite a broad price range. But one thing I wouldn’t do is let that guy in the image be in my ad for the $10,500 Omega.

5. For His Safety During The War

It’s not often that we see advertisements featuring war situations, especially not from watch brands. That’s why it’s so remarkable to see this ad that dates back to World War I that took place from 1914 – 1918. The text translates into ‘For one’s safety, one needs to know the exact time, the day and the night’. It refers to the Omega trench watch at the bottom of the ad with next to it ‘cadran lumineux’ or luminous dial. Omega was the official watch supplier to the British Royal Flying Corps and the U.S. Army during World War I, and the ad shows the importance of being able to read the time properly at all times before you send men into battle. The image of the men attacking is impressive and not something we would see today, and that’s why it’s such an impactful ad.

The image of the men attacking is impressive and not something we would see today.

What I like about the ad is the style of the old Omega logo that is placed prominently in the ad. If you look up images of the movement of one of the old Omega trench watches, you will find that the same logo engraved in the movement. So in the early 20th-century, Omega was already somewhat consistent in its branding – although the logo in the dial of the watch is an entirely different style, I have to admit. The thing I also love is the cut and paste style of the text part. This ad was a general ad, and it was vital that some elements could be changed. For instance, the first line states ‘with leather strap from 52 francs. Luminous dial from 61 francs’ and the prices were subject to change depending on the country and the time. That’s why it’s nice to see the prices and the dealership are printed in a different typeface as the general text. But those are all details compared to the powerful image that made this ad part of this list.

6. Introducing The Constellation Manhattan In Style

This ad was the first ad on the list. This ad had to be on it because it features the first generation Omega Constellation Manhattan, a watch that I own and love. The ad is part of the series of ads that feature the pay-off ‘Omega. When you can have whatever you want.’ just like in the John McEnroe ad that was mentioned earlier. This ad is also from 1982, the year the Constellation Manhattan was introduced. It features actor Robert Wagner who starred in the TV-series Hart to Hart at that time. A series that ran from 1979 until 1984. For the ‘younger’ people, Wagner also starred in Austin Powers movies as No. 2 and in Two And A Half Men as Teddy Leopold, the fifth husband of Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan’s mother.

The Constellation Manhattan as pictured in the ad is the holy grail of that first generation.

I love the decadent 80s style ad that reminds me somewhat of Roger Moore as James Bond. It’s this mixture of style and humour that is so familiar to Moore as 007. It was also present in the Hart to Hart series where Wagner played Jonathan Hart, who together with his wife Jennifer, leads a glamorous jet-set lifestyle. The tuxedo, the champagne, the beautiful watch, and the quirky image of Wagner eating a shrimp from a Chinese takeout dish make for an iconic ad. The sense of humour in the ad is remarkable as the ad was released in 1982, only a couple of months after Wagner’s wife Natalie Wood drowned near Catalina Island on November 29th, 1981. The photos were probably taken before the tragic events took place, but the release of the ad was not long after Wood passed away, which is just as remarkable as the story concerning her death. It was a high-profile story that raised a lot of questions surrounding Wood’s death. Wagner’s role in the matter has been questioned for decades, although there was never any proof that he did anything wrong.

This ad is highly iconic, however, and I love the watch, the message and the sense of humour it has. A detail is that Wagner is not wearing the same watch as is advertised. He is wearing the version of the Constellation Manhattan with a gold dial, which is also a beautiful watch. But the Constellation Manhattan, as pictured in the ad to me, is the holy grail of that first generation of the Omega Constellation Manhattan and still is a classy statement.

7. The Huge Omega Bond Watch

Another iconic Omega story we have to include in this list is the partnership the brand has with the James Bond franchise. Next year sees the 25th anniversary of Bond wearing Omega watches in the 007 movies. My favourite Bond actor will always be Sean Connery, but Daniel Craig is my definite number two. This ad was part of the Skyfall campaign back in 2012 and the reason I chose this ad, is the placement of the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M on the rooftop where Bond is looking out over London. It’s an iconic scene in the movie and the image with the Union Jack is a compelling one, so the choice for this image is a very logical one.

The Planet Ocean looks like an enormous on-set prop accompanying Bond.

At first, the ad didn’t strike me as odd, but then I took another look and it made me laugh. By putting the watch on the roof next to Bond, it becomes part of the overall image and that makes it funny. The Planet Ocean looks like an enormous on-set prop accompanying Bond who is overthinking everything that happened in Skyfall, especially the passing of’ ‘M’ after she was fatally wounded in the gunfire with Raoul Silva’s men. Placement of watches in ads where the bigger image behind the watch tells the story is always a tricky subject. Making the watch part of those images is not still the best solution. Although I understand why Omega did it – it leaves the power of the initial image intact – the effect of it is quite humorous.

8. The Cheap Watch With An Expensive Suit

This ad is one of the most iconic Omega ads in history. The reason is the incredibly powerful question that is asked in the header of the ad referring to the big success of the Omega Speedmaster in space. What essentially was a regular production model chronograph watch that was available for just $235, became standard equipment for the incredibly expensive space missions where astronauts wore these $27,000 spacesuits. At first, I thought the price for the spacesuit wasn’t too high either, but the ad is from 1973, so we have to see this in perspective. If we translate that $27,000 into the current day and age, the spacesuit would cost a little over $165,000. Do the same with the price of the Omega Speedmaster, and you end up with a price of roughly $1,400, which is a ridiculously low amount of money for an Omega Speedmaster.

It would have made sense to put the Speedmaster Mark II and Mark III in the ad.

Next to the compelling story that is told in the ad, I love seeing the image of the Speedmaster Professional, Speedmaster 125, and the Speedsonic f300. It would have made sense to put the Speedmaster Mark II and Mark III in the ad, but Omega decided differently. The three generations of Speedmaster do have their ad that has also become quite iconic, but here Omega decided to promote two different watches. Both the Speedsonic f300 ‘Lobster’ (ref. 188.001) and the Speedmaster 125 (ref. 178.002) are both considered as typically quirky 1970s style watches next to the Speedmaster Professional in what is essentially a hardcore Moonwatch ad. That’s what makes it a somewhat strange ad.

9. Putting Two Icons Together

This ad is one of the most iconic Omega ads in recent history. The ad was released in 2009 as part of the print and TV-campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing in 1969. Omega collaborated with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum to create a campaign around the famous ‘We choose to go to the moon’ speech. The speech is officially known as the Address at Rice University on the Nation’s Space Effort and took place at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, on September 12, 1962, in front of a crowd of 40,000 people. The speech was intended to get the American public behind the realisation of a possible moon landing and support the efforts of the Apollo Space Program – that Kennedy had initiated – to do so. The public opinion at that time was divided as the Apollo Program was costly, and people were not sure if a moon landing would be possible. As we all know, a little less than seven years later, the moon landing became one of the most historic moments in human history.

This ad brings together two historical icons that played a big part in the moon landing.

The reason this ad campaign is so special is that it brings together two historical icons that played a big part in the moon landing. It’s also great to check out the TV-commercial that was also part of the campaign right here. Some critics have stated that the use of Kennedy’s legacy for commercial purposes is debatable for two reasons. The first is that it mixes politics and commerce, and the second is that you should not use the legacy of a deceased person for commercial purposes. I do not agree with both reasons, but what is more important is that Omega went through the proper steps and obtained all the requisite permissions to use the JFK material from the rights holders  – the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston.

The people that represent Kennedy’s legacy saw this as an excellent opportunity to work together with Omega on this campaign and remind people of the historical events that took place in the 1960s. One detail worth mentioning is that there are two versions of the ad. The fist – pictured above – features a regular model Speedmaster Professional from 2009 (ref. 3570.50.00), and the second ad features the steel version of the Speedmaster Professional Apollo XI 40th Anniversary (ref. 311.30.42.30.01.002 ) that was released for the occasion in 2009. No matter what version of the ad you see, I think this is one of the most iconic ads ever created for a watch brand, maybe even outside the world of watches as well. The story told through the images and the text is incredibly powerful and stylish, and it reminds us how incredible the legacy of both the Speedmaster and Kennedy is.

10. What Started As A Chronograph

This ad is what started the Speedmaster legacy back in 1957.  The ad features the first Speedmaster reference CK 2915 and highlights its connection to motorsport. The Speedmaster was initially developed as a chronograph watch used for timekeeping at the races and only after NASA bought the Speedmaster for their space missions, the narrative of the story changed completely. But let’s not get into the history of the Speedmaster too deep and look at the ad. The thing that immediately caught my eye was the small picture in the top right of the ad. It’s a picture of a factory where workers are probably assembling car parts. The short text underneath the big image of the race cars explains it’s a picture of a General Motors assembly line in the United States. How General Motors got an endorsement in this Speedmaster ad is unclear to me, but it’s funny detail how there are two brands part of this ad.

But the more I looked at this ad, the more I started thinking it’s not an ad.

The other nice detail is the text left of the CK2915 that explains how the Speedmaster Chronograph works. It even gives the reader examples of how to use the chronograph functions of the watch. Another nice detail is the original price of 415 Swiss francs for the Speedmaster CK2915 in 1957, which roughly translates to a little over 90 euros. But the more I looked at this ad, the more I started thinking it’s not an ad but part of the Omega brochure from 1957 or 1958. The Original ad from 1957 is featured in the Moonwatch Only book and does not feature the extensive instructions on how to use a chronograph with examples, it also doesn’t feature the picture of the factory workers, and the price was 410 Swiss francs instead of 415. Another hint that it might be a page from a brochure is the word ‘chronographes’ at the bottom that could indicate that we are in the chronograph section of the catalogue. And why would you start an ad with the calibre number on top? That doesn’t make any sense unless it’s part of a brochure. Whatever the truth is, it’s great to see the historic Speedmaster connection to motorsport back in 1957 and the incredible buying price of a Speedmaster back then.

11. The Value Of The Seamaster DeVille

The last ad featured in this list of 11 iconic Omega ads is a very personal one. I love seeing this ad for the Omega Seamaster De Ville Automatic because my dad owns a Seamaster De Ville. He bought it in 1966 after he came back from a job in Bedford, UK and saved up some money to buy a watch. He did not choose the automatic version because he thought it was too thin, so he decided to go for the hand-wound version with a date display that he still wears to this day. It’s the watch I saw my father wear when I grew up, so the Seamaster De Ville holds a special place in my heart and that’s why I love seeing this ad.

What stands out is the incredible bracelet that comes with the stainless steel and gold version of the Seamaster De Ville.

But it’s not the only reason I love this ad. I also love the clean looks of the ad, making the stylish Seamaster De Ville the star of the show. What stands out is the incredible bracelet that comes with the stainless steel and gold version of the Seamaster DeVille. I tried to find more images of this version of the watch, but nowadays most Seamaster De Ville watches are worn with a leather strap, and the ones that have a steel or gold bracelet have a different bracelet than pictured. Another thing you don’t see that often is a dial with the 12, 6, and 9 numerals on the dial. Most versions feature regular hour markers instead of having any numerals. And the last two details in this ad are the huge Omega logo at the bottom in combination with the pay-off ‘for a lifetime of proud possession. Looking at my dad and how he loves his Omega Seamaster De Ville, I can only say that the words in the ad almost had a predictive value to them and that’s what makes this ad the most personal ad on the list of 11 Omega ads we have covered in this list.

Over the decades, Omega has created hundreds of ads that are worth checking out. This is only a small selection, and it will be fun to select more ads in the future and come up with a follow-up as the world of Omega is full of remarkable ads.

More information about Omega on their official website.

*Most images were taken from Pinterest and eBay.