• by Fern Siegel , April 22, 2022

First launched in April 1972, Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak watch has sustained a sleek aesthetic while innovating its technology.

The 1972 Royal Oak and its ultra-thin 39 mm descendants are often nicknamed “Jumbo,” due to what was viewed at the time as their outsized diameter. It was first presented at the Basel Fair after a two-year development process and introduced the idea of casual chic.

To honor the brand’s history, Publicis Luxe, which focuses on luxury marketing, debuted a new campaign, led by ECDs Marie-Eve Schoettl and David Soussan. The creative centerpiece is a short film that salutes the cultural trends defining contemporary art, design, architecture and music in the last 50 years. The tagline: Time Flies. Icons Remain.

“A Journey Through Time” was produced by the Temple Caché collective, which meticulously reconstructed the pop-cultural iconography of each decade, using the Royal Oak's octagonal design as a point of passage. 

The campaign covers 3D out-of-home, print and social media, including Instagram. Billboards celebrate the watch’s octagonal shape. There are 3D event screens worldwide, including Piccadilly in London, Times Square in New York, Changdu, China, and Dubai.

Retail stores boast new design work and pop-up stores are in various cities.

Fifty years after its debut, there are now 500 variations of the original Royal Oak.