Simons Palmer Denton Clemmow and Johnson’s first work for Accurist
watches has been restricted by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance
Centre to slots following the nine o’clock watershed, after the original
version was turned down.
The finished version of the pounds 1 million television campaign, to run
over just ten days, is a decidedly steamy affair, featuring a couple in
flagrante delicto.
Accurist, the leading UK brand, is targeting the last-minute Christmas
shopper, who is typically male, aged between 18 and 40, and wants
reassurance that his gift will be appreciated.
The agency’s interpretation of the brief is to dramatise the reaction of
both the giver and the recipient when they have received an Accurist and
when they haven’t.
The two 20-second executions feature a couple engrossed in making love
and show acres of naked flesh being caressed.
The entire scene is played against the background noise of a ticking
watch. However, while the first ends with a close-up of a lissome
lovely’s face, the second concludes with that of an elderly, gap-toothed
hag.
In the first, the voiceover of Mariella Frostrup pronounces: ‘He who
gives an Accurist this Christmas deserves everything he gets.’ The
second version is altered to: ‘He who doesn’t give an Accurist this
Christmas...’
The Simons Palmer chairman, Paul Simons, admitted that the film may
elicit negative reactions from those outside of the target audience.
‘While we are not deliberately courting controversy, we have a number of
answers up our sleeve if there are any adverse reactions,’ he said.
