Five Rolex advertisements dated 1964, 1966 and 1970 show the brand selling more than watches: political associations, price contrast, maritime history, a spy-story conceit and celebrity imagery. One of the ads reappeared in a longer, full-color version in 1974. The dates, descriptions and readings below follow Jorg Weppelink’s January 22, 2020, Fratello article; the interpretations are not established statements of Rolex’s campaign intent.
How the five ads tell different stories
Across the examples, the watch is sometimes the centerpiece and sometimes almost an afterthought. Some copy asks readers to infer an association; other ads explain a product or build a narrative around it. The differences are useful to keep in mind: these are five distinct advertising approaches, not a ranked list of objectively best campaigns.
| Ad | Approach described by Fratello | How prominently the watch appears |
|---|---|---|
| Day-Date and red phone, 1966 | Political suggestion | The Day-Date is tied to the image’s implied association. |
| Submariner and cheaper underwater watch, 1964 | Price comparison | The Submariner is placed between blocks of text. |
| Seagoing-men story, 1966 | Product-history storytelling | The watch is not prominently pictured. |
| “The Swiss Inquisition,” 1970 | Spy-story-style chronometer-testing narrative | The story, rather than a product close-up, carries much of the ad. |
| Lady-Datejust and a woman rising from the water | Model imagery and possible celebrity association | The image leads; a two-page version appeared in 1974. |
1. The Day-Date and the red phone (1966)
Fratello reads the red telephone in this ad as a reference to the Moscow–Washington hotline and takes the implied U.S. president to be Lyndon B. Johnson, whom the article says wore a gold Day-Date known as the “President.” That is an interpretation of the image, not a confirmed explanation from Rolex.
The article also points out that the hotline was not literally a direct red telephone line. It describes early Teletype equipment, fax machines from 1986 and a secure computer link for email since 2008. These details, like the reported Johnson watch association, are claims relayed by Fratello rather than independently verified here. Weppelink further observes that the hand holding the phone does not look like Johnson’s; that visual impression does not identify the person pictured.
#1 Best Overall
2. The Submariner beside a cheaper underwater watch (1964)
This ad puts the Submariner between blocks of copy and compares it with a less expensive underwater watch. Weppelink questions the choice: a price contrast can make the practical difference between watches clear, but it is an unusual emphasis for a luxury brand. The article gives a five-to-one contrast, but its present-day euro conversion has no clear date or basis, so it should not be treated as current pricing.
A commenter on the article offers another possible reading: the black rectangle could be deep water, with the ordinary underwater watch near the surface and the Rolex fully submerged. Weppelink calls the interpretation smart but still dislikes the layout. The competing readings underline how much the ad’s visual design leaves open to interpretation.
Rank #2
3. The seagoing-men story (1966)
Unlike an ad built around a conspicuous product shot, this one reportedly shows a seaman and uses its copy to tell a history of Rolex developments. Fratello identifies the watch described as the Submariner and reads the story as connecting accuracy to the Oyster case and Perpetual rotor, then to the Submariner’s diving features, including a rotating bezel and a stated depth of 660 feet. Those technical milestones and the depth figure are reported by the article, not independently established here.
The copy’s audience shifts as the story unfolds. The Submariner is introduced through diving, then associated with skippers, helmsmen and America’s Cup navigators. That move from a tool’s stated function to a broader seafaring lifestyle gives the ad a wider appeal than a straightforward technical explanation.
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4. “The Swiss Inquisition” (1970)
Fratello describes this one-page ad as a spy-novel-style story about Rolex chronometer testing. In the article’s account, the copy moves from testing into production, a customer letter, firefighter Red Adair and world leaders pictured at Rolex’s Geneva headquarters. It ends with the ad line, “Each Rolex earns the recognition it enjoys,” alongside the secondary line, “You know the feeling.” These are advertising words reproduced by Fratello; the article does not name a speaker.
The image includes a stern-looking man, but Weppelink does not establish whether he was an employee of the Official Swiss Institute for Chronometer Tests or a model. His identity and employment should therefore remain unknown rather than being inferred from the scene.
Rank #4
5. The Lady-Datejust and the woman rising from the water
Fratello, citing Jake’s Rolex World, identifies the woman in this Lady-Datejust ad as Jill St John, who later appeared as a Bond girl in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). That identification is secondhand in the account and is not independently confirmed here. The article wonders whether the image might have been Bond-inspired, but does not establish a connection.
A two-page, full-color version appeared in 1974 with expanded Lady-Datejust copy. The image’s gendered framing also prompts Weppelink to ask whether the approach would work today. That is an editorial question, not evidence of how Rolex or contemporary audiences would respond.
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What makes these ads remarkable
Their interest lies in the range of storytelling techniques rather than a single formula. The red phone relies on a political association; the Submariner ad makes a direct price comparison; the seaman’s story turns product history into maritime identity; “The Swiss Inquisition” wraps chronometer testing in fiction; and the Lady-Datejust ad depends on model imagery and a possible celebrity connection. In some cases the watch anchors the scene, while in others text or suggestion does most of the work.
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