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Daniel Bollinger Ms. Caruso English 1101 29 October 2013 Clever Title In most cultures, masculinity is represented by objects that instigate strong feelings in their owners. Cars, sporting goods, sports drinks, and clothing are some of the things that consumers perceive to affect masculinity. My car is bigger than yours, and more expensive, therefore I must be the better man. Its this type of thinking in which marketers thrive upon. Everyone uses material possessions to show off their identity, men especially. And the presence and value of a mechanical watch reflects the man it is attached to, according to men. The watch symbolizes strength, complexity, and success to men, and marketers have perfected a way to advertise the most luxurious of watches to boost the egos of the male consumer. The first thing I saw when I looked at the Patek Philippe Geneve watch advertisement was the smiling man, then the watch itself. With further investigation I was drawn to the happy child, the fact that they were driving a boat, and the logo and slogan. This picture is in black and white, making the shiny silver watch stand out at the bottom of the ad with the help of a black background. But people always look for recognition of faces first in almost everything they look at, and here they see a smiling man, then the watch. Already you unknowingly draw the conclusion that this watch makes you happy and confident in some way. After seeing the smiling man and the watch at the bottom, you may be drawn to the child who is driving the boat with, presumably, his father, the smiling man. This advertisement shows the smiling man doing a masculine thing, having some father-son time driving a boat. The boat shows that he is
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successful and rich, and with further investigation the slogan and text relates to the child. The slogan says: You never actually own a Philippe, you merely look after it for the next generation. That slogan plus the intimacy of the father and son make you have an emotional tie to that relationship, and make you want it. Notice that you can hardly see the watch on the smiling mans hand. This shows that what the man is doing is more important than the watch that is being advertised, but there is a close up so you know what is responsible for the smiling mans success. If you as a consumer are still mesmerized by this ad, you will read the text at the bottom describing the watch, which stands out because of the black background. Words and phrases which describe it are legendary 1930sinspired design has evolved, self-winding movement, power reserve, phase display, inspiring icon. Everything about this watch screams power and complexity. The second advertisement for an Omega mechanical watch featuring the endorsement of Daniel Craigs James Bond, which is the first thing I see when I looked at the ad. James Bond is the most masculine of modern icons. It is popular in this culture for men to be independent, gruff, strong, and dignified men who break the system and do things their own way, because they say so. And this is exactly the way James Bond is, shooting baddies, working against the authority of Britains MI6 spy program, saving the world, the girl, all whilst sputtering snarky comments filled with seductive sexual innuendo. By the way, if you buy this watch, you can be just as smooth, just as manly, just as strong. Notice again how you see the man, then the watch, and then instantly draw conclusions between the two. Again, a black background to make the watch stand out and look shinier. The dark background also sets a dark and serious tone for the entire advertisement. Besides the pictures, the strongest thing on the ad is the text James Bonds choice. This spoke to me as being a very powerful slogan just because of what James Bond
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represents. No more is this your ordinary mechanical watch, it comes with a personality and a way of life. This is the watch James Bond chose, a man who seems cooler than you, drives faster cars, has a cooler job, and has slept with more women than Attila the Hun. Therefore, James Bond is much manlier, and knows better than you do. You can be like him if you buy this here Omega mechanical watch, kid. (insert Leonardo Decaprio paragraphs) (insert clever ending paragraph)
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The smiling mans watch can be seen in the exact middle of the page.

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Daniel Craig looks like a Nighthawk himself.

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