Citizen Watch steals one night from the planet

Client: Citizen Watch

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo and Amsterdam

Market: Global

Campaign scope: Print, digital, TVC

Background: To showcase the Eco-Drive Satellite Wave F100’s time-zone adjustment capabilities, photographer Simon Roberts, ex-NATO pilot Jonathan Nicol and documentary filmmaker Tristan Patterson flew in the opposite direction to the Earth’s rotation in order to stay in the same moment of time and experience the same sunset over and over again. The team kept up with the sunset for one night before landing in the Arctic Circle. The mission resulted in a unique series of sunset images taken at exactly the same hour and same minute, in the same day.

Press release quote: Roberts: "As a photographic artist I never thought I would make a series of photos about sunsets, but here was an idea that literally took the concept to the edge of what’s possible. By chasing the sun around the earth, existing in a perpetual twilight hour, we were pushing technical and physical boundaries. It was simultaneously exhilarating and challenging."

Comments: We all know how ‘time flies’, or have experienced moments where we wished we could freeze time. By touching on these universal themes, the campaign achieves an emotional resonance while also elegantly showcasing the product.     

CREDITS

Agency
Executive Creative Directors: Mike Farr & Tota Hasegawa (W+K Tokyo)
Art Director: Vasco Vicente (W+K Amsterdam)
Copywriter: Evgeny Primachenko (W+K Amsterdam) / Takeshi Amata (W+K Tokyo)
Head of Broadcast Production: Erik Verheijen (W+K Amsterdam)
Broadcast Producer: Tony Stearns / Lars Fabery de Jonge (W+K Amsterdam)
Digital Producer: Reiko Kawaguchi (W+K Tokyo)
Planner: Danny Feeney (W+K Amsterdam) / Kenichiro Muraguchi (W+K Tokyo)
Head on Design: Joe Burrin (W+K Amsterdam)
Head of Studio: Jackie Barbour (W+K Amsterdam)
Studio Designer: Thomas Payne (W+K Amsterdam)
Project Manager: Emma Williamson (W+K Amsterdam)
Business Affairs: Michael Graves (W+K Amsterdam)
Account Director: Kensuke Suemasa (W+K Tokyo) / Eleanor Thodey (W+K Amsterdam)
Account Supervisor: Yoshiko Amano (W+K Tokyo)

Film production
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Tristan Patterson
Producer: Hera King
Executive Producer: Chris Barrett
Editorial: Whitehouse Post
Editor: James Forbes-Robertson
Post Production Company: The Ambassadors
Post Producer: Thijs Klaassen
Music Company: The Ambassadors
Sound Design /Mix: The Ambassadors

Print  production

Production company: Visual Artists
Photography (F100 key visual: Simon Roberts (represented by DMB Creatives)
Citizen Product Photography: Frank Hulsbomer

Web production
Production Company: Grand Base Inc.
Director: Shunya Hagiwara
Producer: Yosuke Kurita (Grand Base Inc.)
Web Designer: Shinpe Yamamori (Grand Base Inc.)
Technical Director: Yoshiaki Fujimori (Grand Base Inc.)
Interactive Designer: Junya Kojima (Superposition Inc.)