Page Dimensions

Approx. 8" x 10 1/2" (20cm x 26cm)

Story and Details

The man, Commander James Bond of the British Secret Intelligence Service. The watch, Omega Seamaster Professional Ref. 2531.80 of the Swiss Omega SA watch company. Two years after the Swiss watch industry legend Jean-Claude Biver offered 2 million dollars to have Omega in the marketing campaign and written into the script of GoldenEye, the Seamaster Professional returns on the wrist of 007 for another outing in Tomorrow Never Dies, which was released in 1997, the year of this advertisement. Initially the Seamaster in GoldenEye was a quartz Ref. 2541.80, but in this next installment, an automatic version is issued. 

From the cockpit of a stolen fighter jet over the Caucasus Mountains, to media parties in Hamburg, and infiltrating a stealth ship in the South China Sea, James Bond does it all with the Seamaster Professional clasped to his wrist. In high stakes, physically demanding environments, you need tools which you can rely upon, and Omega watches are no stranger to these sorts of environments. In 1940, Omega was commissioned as the single largest supplier of watches for the British armed forces and its allies. It was in these uncompromising conditions of the front lines where Omega watches proved themselves as reliable and resilient as the daring soldiers who wore them.

This movie poster-like ad cleverly reminds us enthusiasts that often, it's the individual who makes the watch - not the other way around. Also, you don't necessarily need the "most-expensive" watch to look good or get the job done. Turns out a 1990s Seamaster looks great with a Tux. Or perhaps only James Bond can pull that off... 

This "choice" campaign was a major theme of Omega print advertising in the mid-1990s into the early 2000s. Omega not only partnered with Pierce Brosnan, and the Bond franchise, but with other celebrities and athletes, including most-famously Cindy Crawford. What's interesting to note about this particular version of the ad is it's from a magazine circulated in the UK, which is rather appropriate given Bond's historical ties to the region and country.