Worn & Wound
Shinola’s Popular Duck Watch Goes Mechanical with the Quirkiest Campaign Ever
One of several running stories I’ve been working on lately is a chronology of influential watch ads, and perhaps I need to add this latest campaign from Shinola to the list. The headline is that the brand’s popular Duck watch is getting a mechanical movement. In my humble opinion, that’s a pretty exciting announcement within itself whether you’re a mechanical devotee who’s loved the aesthetic of the collection but been uninterested in quartz or whether you’re mechanical-curious and looking to acquire your first model with an automatic movement. However, Shinola decided to take things a step further with a wild launch campaign combining four personalities spanning entertainment, comedy, music, and internet culture – Tefi Pessoa, fresh off Love Island USA; Kareem Rahma, creator and host of Subway Takes and Keep the Meter Running; viral creator Benton McClintock; and New York rapper NEMS, whose ‘Bing Bong’ became an internet phenomenon. But that’s not all – somehow Cheerios (yes, the iconic cereal) is also in the mix. Let’s unpack this and how it all (supposedly) relates to the launch of this new watch. First and foremost, we have to get into the watch itself. The new Duck Automatic collection is making its debut in four iterations. Each offers a well-proportioned 38mm build and is topped off with Shinola’s new quick-release H-link Duck bracelet with a micro-adjust buckle. There are two in classic stainless steel, one with an alabaster hydro sunray...