Viral Now: Cartier shapes time

With a staggering 5.4 million views, Cartier's new campaign is a cinematic delight, chronicling the journey of the brand and its path ahead.

Cartier, a brand that epitomises luxury, has rolled a high impact viral campaign - 'Shape Your Time' - that celebrates the journey of the heritage watch brand and its vision for the future.

Created by renowned French filmmaker, Bruno Aveillan, the film opens in a Cartier workshop where intricate machinery involved in making each piece of exquisite watches swirl up in the air. Supported by a haunting background score and sharp computer-generated imagery technique, the camera cleverly pans close to the different parts used in the watch making trade.

The viewer is exposed to the dramatic deconstruction and reassembly of these parts, which takes the shape of a leopard coming to life. The company's futuristic vision is represented through a Ballon Bleu de Cartier model, featured as a stunning spacecraft.

The film ends with a father telling his son, who is gawking in awe outside a Cartier showroom, all about the brand. The message is that the brand's patrons treat it as a heirloom which is handed down from generation to generation.

In this era of digitalisation, Cartier still commands great respect in the business of wearable devices. The film chronicles the 167-year-long journey of the brand. Campaign director Bruno Aveillan has also created a short film for the brand Cartier's L'Oyssée in 2012 presenting his futuristic vision to open a new page in the watchmaker's chronicle. He also bagged a Cannes Golden Lion for the campaign.

Posted on September 28th on YouTube, the campaign has garnered 5.4 million views as on Thursday evening. Cartier designs, manufactures, distributes and sells jewellery and watches. Founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-François Cartier, the company remained under family control until 1964. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Compagnie Financière Richemont, SA. Cartier operates more than 200 stores in 125 countries.