3 Surprising Vintage Ads That Seiko Used to Spread Their Name

Did you know about the time when Seiko’s watch was interviewed? Yes, you read that correctly! Seiko wasn’t the one being interviewed. Rather, it was their watch! Now, you might be wondering how this was possible. Well, it was part of their marketing campaign.

The watch in question was the Seiko Chronograph. “The world’s first interview with a Seiko Chronograph” is what’s stated, and it is a witty way of getting people to check out what it is all about. The ad detailed the functions of the watch, its highlighting features, and more, showing off to everyone what it is all about.

Why did Seiko do this? Well, back then, Seiko needed to expand its presence beyond the Japanese market. This was just one of their many ways of doing so.

That said, let’s delve deeper into other surprising vintage ads that Seiko came up with:

1. The All-Man Man’s Watch Ad

From the name alone, you might feel some form of masculinity that’s displayed all over the watch, and that’s exactly what Seiko is trying to do. With the ad, rather than talking about the watch’s features, Seiko was trying to play on someone’s masculinity. All they’re saying is that if you wear their watches, women will be more attracted to you.

Of course, in today’s world, such a watch ad will probably not fly. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the watch acts as a great fashion piece, not to mention as a tool.

2. The Walk-Away Ad

This has to be a cool ad, right? Well, it is, especially the story that it was inspired by (we think). So apparently, Seiko has created watches that have been issued to the South African Air Force that are engraved with the prefix AF in it. On the poster of the ad itself, there’s a macho man walking away from the watch. The story goes that one pilot from the South African Air Force had an incident during training and had to eject from his jet. During ejection, his watch was ripped out from his wrist, falling down to earth. Later on, he found it on the ground, damaged but still working fine. The soldier later wrote the story to Seiko, but Seiko never replied.

Whether or not Seiko used this story or not, we won’t really know. However, we can agree that the ad and the suspected story behind it are pretty amazing.

3. The Hi-Beat Ad

In this ad, Seiko featured their 61GS watches, which run 36,000 beats an hour. A second, that’s ten beats! This incredible speed and precision make it much less susceptible to losing accuracy, and it is quick to recover if it does happen.

So, what happened in the ad? Well, it was one simple claim they made. Seiko boasted that the watch would remain accurate to one second even in 1.4 million years. That’s a massive claim to make, and while no one here will live that long, anyone looking for the most accurate timepieces was just shown one!

Conclusion

While Seiko’s ads are quite different today, they still encapsulate the charm, boldness, and technology behind their beautifully-crafted watches. So, whichever watch you opt for, whether it be a cheap or expensive one, you can always know for a fact that Seiko can be trusted and relied upon to deliver.

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