"You can tell more about a person by the watch they wear than by anything else." That's the theme of watch maker Seiko's new ads -- part of a 20 million-dollar-plus marketing campaign to help raise its image and appeal to a younger 25 to 40 year old audience. The premise of this promotion is that "one's choice of a watch is purely personal -- the brand, the design, and the functions all reflect the type of person that each individual is and wants to be seen to be. One's watch is like a window into one's personality; through the selection of a watch, each person decides how the world will see him or her." Really? I did not know that. I didn't realize that the secret to knowing a person was right there on their wrist all the 'time.' The marketing strategy includes a television commercial that was shot on the Mediterranean island of Minorca -- shot in a marble quarry -- shot in black and white. "It's not your job...      it's not your accent...           it's not your clothes...                it's not your car...                     it's not your lipstick...                          it's not your friends...                               it's not your shoes...                                    it's not your laugh...                                         it's not your hair...                                              it's your watch.                           You can tell more about a person by the watch they wear than by anything else." OK -- I'm missing something here. (But maybe that's because I'm not in the 25 to 40 year old target group.) Seiko's new Arctura Kinetic Chronograph is the star of the ad. Its Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price is $650. It is a good looking watch, and it would probably look good on me. But to give it super-powers beyond that of accurately telling time is stretching the truth somewhat, don't you think? Now, if it's true that 'one's watch is like a window into one's personality', then I suppose if you don't wear a watch, you have no apparent personality. Hey, slap on a Timex or Casio, quick! Any personality is better than no personality at all -- besides, you'll have a better chance of being on time for your appointments. Hey, if the Arctura Kinetic Chronograph isn't 'you', you might want to take a look at the Sportura Kinetic Chronograph, with a MSRP of $2495. If I see one these babies on your wrist, it will tell me one thing about you -- you've got more money than I do! P.S. If Seiko's premise is true, you might think twice before you strap on a FOSSIL Brand watch. You know what I mean? think on these things... "It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy." George Horace Lorimer "Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." John Wooden "True wealth is not measured by that which one possesses, but rather by that which is given away." RCG If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?  Matthew 16:25,26 Copyright 2004 Randall Gearhart top of page