During the latter half of the 19th century, Universal and International Exhibitions served as the leading promotional venues for watch manufacturers, more inclined in those days to flaunt their wares’ technical features and merits than to resort to advertising in order to differentiate them from their competitors’. But over time marketing techniques did evolve. Economic and social progress during this period led to the increasing popularity of placards, bills and posters as ways of promoting the goods turned out by a fast-growing industrial sector. Longines’ earliest attempts at publicity appeared both in the parts and components catalogues which the company circulated in the late 19th century and as advertisements placed in various publications. Views of the factory and mentions of the various prizes and distinctions garnered by the company just about summed up the advertising message.

By the early years of the 20th century, Longines had adopted a new way of promoting its products: the poster. Longines posters naturally reflect the tastes and aesthetic standards of their day, inspired by the major artistic trends of the new century. Little by little, they captured ever more distinctly the company’s core values and its distinctive style, its name and its timepieces as well as the events in which it played a role. At the same time, the corporate image expressed itself through personalities representative of its particular virtues. Today, Longines advertising seeks personalities who best convey the company’s corporate values. In its current form, Longines advertising includes the horological traditions long associated with its name, ambassadors representative of those values who confirm its reputation for precision and elegance. For the last eight years, its values have been expressed by the slogan “Elegance is an Attitude”.