Breitling has halted recent ad campaigns that show scantily clad women adoring cool watch-wearing pilots, calling them outdated, the watch company’s CEO told a Swiss advertising publication.
Georges Kern, who was appointed to the CEO role last summer, told Weber Woche that he halted the spots “immediately.”
“There are certainly customers who found [them] funny and good,” he said. “But such spots are definitely outdated and do not reflect the values of today’s society. ”
The New York Post also reported that the watch brand has eliminated racy artwork from its retail stores and cut out scantily-clad women from its ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
Kern said he had a similar experience when he headed rival watch brand IWC, and he put the kibosh on a controversial brand ad campaign that said that an IWC watch was “almost as complicated as a woman. Except it’s on time.”
A Breitling spokesperson did not return a request from JCK for further comment.
Kern also told the newspaper that Breitling is financially healthy and aims to be the largest watch brand in the world.
He also said that he wants to keep the brand’s focus on aviation, but also further connect it with culture and sports.
In April 2017, CVC Capital Partners bought an 80 percent stake in the previously independent Swiss watch firm for a reported $870 million.
This YouTube video features one of the ads produced for the discontinued campaigns.
(Top image: Breitling store in Sydney, Australia, from Flickr)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
