This ad was created by Breitling for Bentley to help sell a watch. This ad, which was found taking up two pages on the inside cover of ESPN magazine, was used to target a middle aged audience of white males based on their choice of model. They use a highly sophisticated man who is tightly groomed, looks to be very wealthy, and is indeed good looking. This man happens to be 3- year-old soccer star, David Beckham. By having Beckham in their ad, Breitling for Bentley is applying several basic persuasion techniques such as association, bandwagon, beautiful people, and celebrities to help sell their product. Beckham is not only a soccer star but also a world icon. He is well known, sexy, and rich. This particular Bentley B06 watch sells for around $11,700 retail, depending on the vender. The cost of this watch adds to the fact that the target audience must be of the higher class with money and have exquisite taste in valuables.
Breitling for Bentley’s ad has David Beckham striking an intriguing pose while standing in the middle of an airplane runway. In the background, there are white private jets. The color white represents wealth and power. Behind Beckham is a blacked out Bentley automobile which is often sold for over $200,000. The runway is surrounded by mountains, and dark clouds shadow the scene. Beckham is in an expensive black suit with groomed hair and beard. On his left wrist, he wears the Breitling for Bentley B06 watch complimented by his black hand tattoos. An enlarged picture of the watch is displayed in the bottom right of the ad with a description of the watch and the locations of the vendors in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Orlando.
The ad is full of symbolism. The private jets, the blacked out Bentley, and the black suit all symbolize wealth and power. Beckham’s charisma with his black suit and car also symbolize a sense of boldness. Breitling for Bentley is saying that if you buy and wear their watch, it will bring you boldness, power, and wealth in your appearance. This watch is a man in high places. This can be offending to the people who cannot afford a watch of this value. There is also a sense of the unknown. Breitling for Bentley uses the card stacking technique to make the audience conclude what is happening in the ad. Why is David Beckham standing in the middle of a runway accompanied by planes and cars surrounded by mountains? Money. Power. Mystery. The ad makes Beckham look like “the most interesting man in the world.”
The ad brings something new to Americans. The products displayed in the ad are both foreign made, as Beckham and Bentley are from Britain and Breitling from Switzerland. Americans want and love the next best thing in technology. The ad uses a testimonial and makes the audience feel that Beckham, from Britain, wears the watch himself. We don’t know if he wears watches at all! It is possible that he is getting a heap of endorsement money from this ad and doesn’t even wear the watch. The ad lists vendors in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, and Orlando, all large cities across the country, reiterating the fact that this watch is for the upper-class, the sophisticated lifestyle, and the “David Beckhams” of our society. All of this could be offensive to people in Switzerland and Britain because this ad gives the idea that they are all rich and drive fancy cars with expensive watches.
Also, the description of the watch is screaming with intensity. In the bottom left half of the ad, it reads,
“British chic, Swiss excellence: Breitling for Bentley combines the best of both worlds. Style and performance. Luxury and accomplishment. Class and audacity. Power and refinement. Perfectly epitomizing this exceptional world, the Bentley B06 chronograph houses a Manufacture Breitling calibre, chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), the highest benchmark in terms of precision and reliability. It is distinguished by its exclusive “30-second chronograph” system enabling extremely precise readings of the measured times. A proud alliance between the grand art of British carmaking and the fine Swiss watchmaking tradition.”
Nowhere does it state how or with what the watch is made. It could be a knock-off and cheaply made. Also, who determines their watch is the “highest benchmark”? There is no proof or any statistics over competing watch brands to justify their claim. The description says, “… extremely precise readings of the measured times.” when a digital phone is most precise. Lastly, nowhere on the ad is the price even mentioned.
Messages of materialistic life and “money buying happiness” are being portrayed here. This message is shown in the choice of model, the suit, the car, the jets, and the location. The ad is saying their watch brings the audience class, sophistication, and wealth. In reality it will only burn a whole in your life’s savings. Money and materialistic items don’t buy people happiness. Besides, a simple watch that tells the same time as this watch can be purchased for thousands of dollars less.
Breitling for Bentley’s B06 watch is portrayed as luxurious, and high-class, with Swiss engineering. That it may be, but not everyone can afford an $11,000 watch.
They used overwhelming persuasion techniques to make their product sell. But if people examine the advertisement carefully, they will touch back down with reality and reconsider filling Breitling for Bentley’s piggy bank.