• by Sarah Mahoney , 4 hours ago

The effort comes to life this week to launch the company’s first-ever automatic Duck watch, starting at $895. But it also underscores the Detroit-based fashion brand’s effort to stake out its territory as an American style-setter.

The campaign follows a group of celebs -- New York rapper NEMS, Tefi Pessoa, fresh off “Love Island USA,” Kareem Rahma, creator and host of "Subway Takes," and TikTok creator Benton McClintock -- as they spend a playful day in the park, horsing around and befriending ducks.

“It’s about our relationship to time,” says Shinola creative director Jonathan Bailey, “and questions whether we need to make every minute of our day productive. The world is so optimized right now, and people just want to touch grass. The duck just kind of became a natural metaphor for that, with a little bit of wit.”

It also led to a weird collaboration: Shinola teamed up with General Mills to produce 100 boxes of co-branded Cheerios, which will be available only at Shinola-hosted event celebrating the Duck Automatic launch. Why? Ducks like to snack on them.

And if duck-befriending seems silly, you’re likely outside the group this is meant to appeal to: the millions of Gen Z and young millennial consumers in the “touch grass” crowd, who keep looking for ways to step back from the digital tyranny of their smartphone- and smartwatch-driven lives.

This is the second campaign from Bailey. Earlier this year, he oversaw “Set the Pace,” an effort directed by and starring Nicholas “Succession” Braun, which also addresses the need for taking time out. (Shinola worked with London agency GentleForces on both campaigns.)

The Duck watch is already one of the company’s best-selling items. This launch offers an upgrade to automatic, with three watches powered by the Miyota 9015 and a limited-edition fourth style powered by the new Miyota 9085. (The Japanese movements are well regarded.)

But the launch extends well beyond the watch itself. Bailey, who worked at both Coach and Tiffany before joining Shinola, is also focused on shaping an American luxury brand.

“We're only 15 years old, but we are a future heritage brand,” he tells Marketing Daily. And while that means expanding the design codes for growing collections, “we want someone to look at the watch on your wrist and say that that's unmistakably Shinola.”

For Bailey, who is a Brit, that includes building an unmistakably American aesthetic. “To me, that means there is an ease and approachability of style, a way to say, 'Shinola is for everyone.’ It’s not a luxury status symbol.”

But it is also from Detroit, “a working-class city with deep design roots. It’s a legacy city, and I want the Shinola brand to hold up to that legacy.”

Watches priced at more than $2,000 are generally considered true luxury brands, rather than high-end entry-level. Shinola’s timepieces range from $500 to $3,500.

And watches are idiosyncratic: No one really needs a watch. Smartphones are everywhere, and an estimated 37% of U.S. adults also have a smartwatch, according to Pew Research Center. Devoted aficionados will spend days online arguing about faces, crowns and the best movements. Some are collectors who regard each new luxury timepiece as an investment. Plenty of wealthy people flash their six-figure watches for attention or to intimidate in the boardroom. But for some, it’s just another fashion accessory.

And then there are one-watch people, the kind of minimalists the company targeted with its very first (and still popular) platform, the Runwell. For that product, the name is the marketing, and it helped establish the company as a serious competitor.

But Gen Z -- the most digital generation -- is falling in love with watches. JCK, a jewelry trade magazine, reports that younger consumers are reshaping the luxury market. Increasingly, they’re buying dress watches, particularly at the low end of the luxury market. They're also favoring classic brands, especially Cartier.

There’s some irony here: A recent YouGov poll found that only 43% of adults under 30 can instantly tell the time on an analog clock.

For this watch, though, Bailey thinks the audience is not necessarily a watch connoisseur, “but someone who might buy their first automatic watch, and who wants to have a piece of craft that's been assembled and designed in America, in Detroit.”