The first 5 Obama Watches

Here’s an adventure of mine that involves an interesting cast of characters, President Obama, George Clooney, George Bush, the most famous Craig in the world (Craig Newmark), Dick Cheney, the Secret Service, the Democratic party and the venerable Smithsonian Institution.

Towards the end of 2006, I decided to support Barack Obama for President. To show my support, I made an Obama Watch. Just one. I had no intention at that time of making a whole slew of Obama Watches. I just thought it would be cool to wear a watch that supported Barack Obama. If anyone asked me what time it was, I would point to my watch and say, “It’s time for a change.”

I wasn’t really trying to build a business. It was just a one-man crusade to support my candidate for President.

I wore the watch to a birthday party in December, 2006 and the next day five friends called to ask, “Where can I get one of those Obama Watches.”

I contacted Kevin Beck, a friend of mine and a talented art director who designed the original (and only) Obama Watch. I asked him if he’d design 4 more Obama Watches. He did, and two months later we started selling  a collection of five Obama Watches.

Two of the first five watches had a photo of the candidate and the phrase, “It’s Time for a  Change”  Another had a red, white and blue smiley face and the fifth watch in the initial collection had a drawing of Mother Earth on it and the inscription, “Love your Mama. Vote Obama.”

Obama Watches workers at the Democratic National Convention in Denver promoted the fact that Obama Watches were granateed to be more accurate than George Bush

Our campaign to sell Obama Watches was well received. Of course, we had the support of world-class ad agency, Einstein da Vinci & Goldenberg. The folks at ED&G worked very hard for us and came up with some great ideas to promote Obama Watches. Take our Guarantee: “Obama Watches are guaranteed  to be more accurate than George Bush.”

Still, we thought we’d sell more watches if we could get some high-powered endorsements. So we found a man in Pennsylvania whose name was George Bush and though it may be hard to believe, he really lived in a White House ( Without the Capital Letters, of course.)

We created and distributed a flier touting his support.

That promotion went so well (watch sales picked up online), we scoured America for a man named Dick Cheney. (READERS NOTE: All right, maybe we didn’t scour America, unless, of course, you consider doing a Goggle search “scouring America.”)

We found a Richard “Dick” Cheney living in Pennsylvania. We told him what we were up to and he agreed to play along. He also mirrored the President., I mean, Dick Cheney, in some ways, and in some ways he was completely of the opposite of the President, I mean Dick Cheney.

For instance, both men had been in the oil business. The biggest difference was that only Vice President Chaney had accidentally shot a friend in the face. The Dick Cheney we were dealing with had never done that. As far as he could remember.

With Dick Cheney’s support, we had a second key endorsement. Then we thought, “Wait a second. Do we really want Dick Cheney’s endorsement?”

So we softened our association with the Vice President and he never came out directly for Obama.

Did we cave in to fear? Damn right, we did! Look, if Dick Cheney accidentally shot his friend in the face, what do you think he would do to his enemies?

Obama Watches Launches Viral Campaign

Then we kicked everything into high gear. We launched a viral campaign, but not on YouTube. Instead we launched it on the wrists of people all across America. Obama Watches became our social medium. We gave out hundreds of Obama Watches to students. seniors, nurses, teachers, bus drivers, Obama campaign workers, McDonald’s crew members, hotel doormen, anybody who would agree to wear the watch and point to it and say, “It’s time for a change.”

Although I’m sure some people who g0t a free watch didn’t wear it, many wore it and proudly became ambassadors for the Democratic candidate. Online sales were going well, but we didn’t want to lose momentum. So we continued to seed our Obama Watch giveaway by getting them to an A-List of supporters including George Clooney, Sen Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia, and Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigs List.

Then one day got the phone call. A member of the Democratic National Committee asked me, “How would you like to give an Obama Watch to Senator Barack Obama at a fundraiser in Philadelphia”

I said, “I would be thrilled to do it.”

Then the Democratic National Committee member told me, ” It’ll cost you a thousand dollars if you want to do it.”

I said, “I’m not that thrilled.”

The woman on the phone explained, “You’ll be in a small room with 30-40 people and have direct access to Obama. The people you’ll be with at this intimate reception for Obama have donated $25-100,00. So you’d be getting a real bargain.”

I explained that I ran a very small company.

The Democratic National Committee person asked, “Couldn’t one of your partners donate the $1000? This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

I said that one of my partners couldn’t even count his change and the other hadn’t been to work in 620 years.

“How about a $500 donation?”

I paused for a few seconds, then said, “Let me check with my partners.” I put my hand over the phone and mumbled something.

“OK,” I said. “Five hundred bucks we could do.”

When the day of the fundraiser arrived, I was stoked. How cool would it be to give one of my Obama Watches to Senator Obama?
By the time I arrived at the Philadelphia hotel where the fundraiser was being held, I had decided to hand Obama five different Obama Watches.

I figured the Senator could give one watch each to his two daughters, one to Michelle, and he could keep one for himself. What about the fifth watch? He could give it to one of his friends, like George Clooney. Oh no, Clooney already had one. In fact, we sent him three.

What if George Clooney found out we only gave him three watches and we gave Obama five? Would he be upset? Would he ask for two more watches? Was I imagining much too much? No. No. And yes.

Of course, I had needed a security clearance to attend the event since I was going to be up close and personal with a potential future U.S. President. But it wasn’t going to be the first U.S, President I met. I once met President Ronald Reagan. At least, I think Reagan was real, he may have just been a cardboard cutout. With Reagan, it was always very hard to tell.

Next, I was escorted into a room filled with about three dozen well-dressed people. Nearly everyone had camera or camera phone ready to capture this historic (for all of us, anyway) event.

We waited ten minutes, twenty minutes, then half an hour, and finally I turned to the person next to me and said, “If he doesn’t show soon, would it be wrong for me to ask for my hundred grand back?”

Before the person could answer, candidate Obama entered the room. He made his way along the line of donors, shaking hands and saying a few words to each person. Now, he was approaching where I was standing.

The Secret Service agents who were flanking him seemed to puff up and get larger as they all approached me.

Obama held out his hand to shake mine, and I tried to thrust 5 Obama watches in cheap gold colored boxed into Obama’s right hand.

But an alert Secret Serviceman grabbed the watches and, for a second, I thought he was going to wrestle them to the ground. Actually, he was totally cool about it. He said, “Here, I’ll take those, thanks.”

The Secret Service agents left the room with my five watches. Ten minutes later, both agents returned with the watches still in their cheap little gold boxes. Both approached me. One nodded his head and said, ” Pretty cool watches.”

The other agent said that the President can not accept or even own the watches. But they would be given to an Obama aide and donated to the Democratic Party. “Senator Obama would eventually receive the watches, but he can never actually own them,” an agent said.

Apparently, the overzealous Democratic fundraiser who contacted me neglected to let the Secret Service detail know I would be handing Senator Obama a watch. I guess he wanted to keep it secret. I was just happy I didn’t get in any trouble.

A few months later, I was asked if I wanted to attend a fundraiser for Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden. I didn’t ask how much it would cost. I just respectfully declined.

To see a brief video of me explaining our Obama Watch campaign, just click anywhere on this sentence. (NOT TOO SAVVY READERS NOTE: It’s called a hotlink and I invented it!)

Or just watch this video.

Jack Goldenberg imbues strategy and creative with his own unique spin for more effective tweets, Facebook pages, advertising copy, web site content, LinkedIn Profiles and even FAQS.

If you are interested in adding humor to your social media marketing and giving customers and potential customers what they’re looking for, please contact Jack Goldenberg, or call 973-590-7343. Einstein and da Vinci are standing by to take your call.

Share on Facebook