Tag Archives: The Triad

Why Does a Snoopy Watch Get a Full-Page Teaser Ad in the New York Times?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and leafing through the New York Times, when I came across this full-page ad on A5.

What’s going on here, Doc? Is there a moon landing scheduled for later this month? Is Elon Musk planning to SpaceX his Shiba Inu Floki up there? What am I missing?

– Moon Stuck

Dear MS,

What you missed was the small © 2024 Peanuts Worldwide LLC in the lower right-hand corner of the ad. Plug that into the Googletron and you get this piece from MGB Watches, which notes that the ad also ran in The Guardian newspaper.

SNOOPY MOONSWATCH RELEASE DATE CONFIRMED – 26.03.24

The much awaited buzz surrounding the Snoopy MoonSwatch has reached its peak, as another official teaser graces The Guardian newspaper today. Capturing attention with an intriguing image of a paw print imprinted on the Moon’s surface, it unmistakably announces the release date of a Snoopy MoonSwatch: 26.03.24! . . .

26th March is such a significant date for the MoonSwatch as it marks the two year anniversary: On March 26th, 2022, Swatch unveiled the incredibly successful collection, consisting of the much loved 11x planet themed Omega x Swatch Speedmaster Watches.

For those of you keeping score at home, not everyone loved the Omega x Swatch collection, as this letter to the Doc two years ago detailed.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading Jonathan V. Last’s Triad newsletter at The Bulwark, when I came across this item.

3. Watch Talk

It’s been a while since and I know that this if [sic] frivolous, but this just happened:

I have no words.

Taking the iconic Speedmaster Professional—the watch that went to the frickin’ moon—and turning it into a candy-colored hunk of plastic quartz . . . this is an abomination. An offense against God and nature. It’s like the Louvre partnering with Oscar Mayer to sell a Bologna Lisa.

So here’s my question, Doc: Do you want to see the Bologna Lisa as badly as I do?

– Swatched at Birth

Fun fact to know and tell, via Bianca Bosker’s “Lost Basquiats” piece in The Atlantic: “Researchers at the City University of New York instructed study participants to imagine that the Mona Lisa had been destroyed in a fire and asked them whether they’d rather see its ashes or a copy that not even connoisseurs could distinguish from the original. Eighty percent picked the ashes.”

But back to MoonSwatches. Those Snoopy newspaper ads weren’t even the first teasers for the new timepiece, as Wired’s Jeremy White reported several months ago.

Considering the long-established connection between Snoopy and Omega, after the original MoonSwatch caused pandemonium around the globe in 2022 and reinvigorated Swatch’s previously flagging fortunes, it’s hardly surprising that the brand should mine this rich Schulz seam to tease a coming Snoopy MoonSwatch.

There’s only one thing that could stop this cartoon-collaboration MoonSwatch from being the most popular version of the series since the Omega X Swatch’s frenzied launch: if it’s as unimaginative and understated as the Moonshine Gold editions that followed the bright and bold original MoonSwatches.

The Doc’s diagnosis: There’s no guarantee watch nerds will be over the moon for the new Snoopy-on-a-strap when it finally lands, either.

Why Is Nikki Haley Barely Nicking Donald Trump in Her First Iowa TV Spot?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and paging through the Weekend Wall Street Journal, when I came across this interview with Nikki Haley based on a sit-down the former South Carolina governor and U.N. Ambassador in the Trump administration had with the Journal’s editorial board.

Drove-me-nuts graf:

She is careful to give her former boss his due: “I think President Trump was the right president at the right time,” she says. “I really do.” But “chaos follows him wherever he goes. And every one of you knows I’m right.” She scans the room. “When the world is on fire and our country is completely distracted, we can’t continue down this chaotic path.”

Really? That’s her brief for replacing the guy who’s ahead of her by 50 points in polls and 91 felony counts in courts of law? He’s a chaos magnet? What the hell, Doc.

– Nik-Pikki

Dear NP,

Yeah, you’re not the only one eye-rolling about Haley’s rolling over for Trump. Here’s what The Bulwark’s Will Saletan wrote on Substack the other day.

Have you heard Nikki Haley’s pathetically weak description of Trump’s behavior? She says “rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him.” In today’s @The Bulwark podcast, @Charlie Sykes mocks her evasive language. “It’s a little bit like saying, ‘You know, wherever Jeffrey Dahmer goes, people are found dead.'” lnk.thebulwark.com/47Mq34r

Haley is just as mealy-mouthed in her first Iowa TV spot.

“A president must have moral clarity,” she says, “and know the difference between good and evil. Today, China, Russia, and Iran are advancing . . .”

And etc.

Oh, wait – Haley also says, “it’s time for a new generation of conservative leadership. We have to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past, and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose.”

The Doc believes that pitch was far more forceful in the original Esperanto.

To call Haley’s alleged presidential primary campaign against Donald Trump a pillow-fight is an insult to pajama parties worldwide.

And yet . . .

Another Bulwark stalwart, Jonathan V. Last, presented two theories of the case in his Triad newsletter: “Theory #1: You attack Trump in order to take his voters from him . . . Theory #2: If you attack Trump then you can’t get a hearing from Republican voters.”

The first gambit represents a gargantuan task, likely requiring Haley to go after Trump hammer and tongue. Last says that might be possible, but makes this “utilitarian case” for the second approach.

The only way to have a chance to beat Trump is to pretend that he’s fine and to pledge to support him at some point down the road. The act of telling the truth about Trump, or saying that you might not support him in the future, disqualifies you in the minds of Republican voters.

And so Haley has to play it this way in order to have even a 1-in-100 chance.

Haley doubled down on her campaign of least resistance this weekend in an interview with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.

“It’s not about fitness. I think he’s fit to be president. It’s ‘Should he be president?’ I don’t think he should be president. I thought he was the right president at the right time,” said Haley.

“We’ve got to look at the issues that we’re dealing with, coming forward with new solutions, not focusing on negativity and baggage of the past. So it’s not about being fit. It’s just I don’t think he’s the right person to be president,” she added.

The Doc’s diagnosis: If Nikki Haley truly believes the Cheeto-in-Chief is fit to be president, then she manifestly is not.

GOP Ad Says Sen. Joe Manchin (D-Hell No) Owns a ‘Luxury Yacht’. Is That Right?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading Axios Sneak Peek, when I came across this item by Josh Kraushaar.

The NRSC [National Republican Senatorial Committee] is out with a new direct mail and digital ad campaign portraying Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) as a Davos-trekking elitist, firing the first of many shots to come ahead of a potential re-election campaign . . .

Why it matters: Manchin, who hasn’t announced what he plans to do in 2024, is the only Democrat who can realistically hold a Senate seat in one of the most conservative states in the country.

The ad also says Manchin drives a Maserati and owns a $700,000 luxury yacht.

Is that why the boat’s named “Almost Heaven”?

– Almost Heavin’

Dear Ms. Heavin’,

Republicans would like nothing better than to hound Joe Manchin into retirement, since they’re desperate for his Senate seat.

Here’s the ad they hope will facilitate his exit, and please enjoy the narrator’s British accent, which is supposed to echo the voice of Robin Leach, late of the venerable Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Let’s do some fact-checking, shall we?

• For starters, it’s true that Manchin attended the World Economic Forum in Davos this month, a turn on the big stage that was largely notable for the high-five he shared with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Me Mine) over preserving  the Senate filibuster – something we thought  the NRSC [checks notes]  would totally dig. Guess not.

• It’s also true that Manchin owns a Maserati, for which he’s previously taken grief from climate change activists and Brian Williams. But isn’t owning a luxury car part of the American dream, which we thought Republicans [checks notes] have always touted? Guess not.

• It is not true that Manchin owns a “$700,000 D.C. luxury yacht,” as Andrew Beaujon noted two years ago in Washingtonian.

It’s not a yacht. Republicans tried to paint Manchin as yacht-owning “Washington Joe” during his 2018 reelection campaign. Mmmm, not quite: “The vessel is listed as ‘recreational’ on documents,” PolitiFact wrote in a fact-check. “However, a less confrontational—but similarly accurate—description could be ‘houseboat,’ since it is Manchin’s residence in Washington.”

P.S. The source the NRSC cites for the “luxury yacht” designation – 100 Days in Appalachia – is a known right-wing propaganda machine.

• Finally, the NRSC spot proclaims that “Life is very good for Democrat Joe Manchin while West Virginians get stuck with higher prices, smaller paychecks, and open borders . . . Tell Maserati Manchin it’s time to stand up for West Virginians.”

Not to get technical about it, but check out this graphic from Jonathan V. Last’s Triad newsletter at The Bulwark.

See that deep blue blotch straddling Virginia and Kentucky? That’s blood-red West Virginia, baby!  The Mountain State gets back $3.09 for every tax dollar it ponies up to the feds.

If you don’t think Joe Manchin has had a lot to do with that, you just haven’t been paying attention.

Is the New MoonSwatch Collection Really ‘An Abomination’?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading Jonathan V. Last’s Triad newsletter at The Bulwark, when I came across this item.

3. Watch Talk

It’s been a while since and I know that this if [sic] frivolous, but this just happened:

I have no words.

Taking the iconic Speedmaster Professional—the watch that went to the frickin’ moon—and turning it into a candy-colored hunk of plastic quartz . . . this is an abomination. An offense against God and nature. It’s like the Louvre partnering with Oscar Mayer to sell a Bologna Lisa.

So here’s my question, Doc: Do you want to see the Bologna Lisa as badly as I do?

– Swatched at Birth

Dear Swatched,

We’ll get to the art part shortly but first, commerce.

Here’s the full-page ad that ran in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.

And here’s the press release from Swatch.

SWATCH AND OMEGA “REACH FOR THE PLANETS” WITH THE BIOCERAMIC MOONSWATCH COLLECTION

Swatch and Omega come together for an innovative take on the legendary Speedmaster Moonwatch.

Outer space inspires a new collection of eleven BIOCERAMIC watches named after planetary bodies that will have you reaching for the stars.

The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is legendary and a must-have for collectors. BIOCERAMIC Moon-Swatch collection makes the iconic design accessible to fans everywhere.

The Doc assumes that JVL would like nothing better than to stick the whole thing in a Falcon Heavy and fire it into the sun, but he’s distinctly in the minority according to this Gear Patrol piece by the site’s watch writer, Zen Love (apparently his real name).

This Omega x Swatch Collab Is Breaking the Internet

An unexpected collaboration has watch fans over the moon. Omega and Swatch have teamed up to offer a collection of 11 models of what they’re calling the MoonSwatch. Recreating the exact proportions and design of the famous Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, these are quartz watches in Bioceramic cases…and they cost $260.

The Speedmaster is an absolute basic of watch collecting, but its current version costs around $6,400. The chance to get it for a mere fraction of that — with a dial actually co-signed by Omega itself — is exciting for a lot of people. Let’s face it, though, even if you already have a Moonwatch, or never even wanted one (which is hard to imagine), these are just fun.

Yeah, tell that to JVL.

(Not to get technical about it, but Mr. Love never does explain exactly how the MoonSwatch is breaking  the Internet.)

As for the Bologna Lisa, the Doc did find a bunch of Lisa Bolognas, but none of them seem to have an enigmatic smile. Your punchline goes here.

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Viral Message To the Russian People ‘His Finest Moment’?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and  reading Jonathan V. Last’s Triad newsletter at The Bulwark, when I came across this item.

3. Extraordinary Leadership

I try to never waste your time and I will warn you up front that this is a 9-minute video. But it is an extraordinary display of leadership. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking directly to the Russian people with a message that was designed in a lab to persuade . . .

his isn’t virtue signaling or sentiment. It’s meeting the Russian people where they are and talking honestly about his own history, the pain his father caused and then suffered from, the beauty and strength of the Russian people, and the truth that is being hidden from them.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has led a weird, wonderful, amazing life. And this is his finest moment.

What’s your diagnosis, Doc?

– Rushin’ to Judgement

Dear Rushin’,

First, you need to watch the video – all of it.

Here’s the text of the video (via The Atlantic).

Schwarzenegger’s plea is so honest, heartfelt, and direct, it’s hard not to be moved by it. You can Google the video all day long and not encounter a negative word about it. For those of you keeping score at home, Schwarzenegger’s Twitter feed got a robust reaction.

As for your question, Rushin’, if that video is not Arnold Schwarzenegger’s finest moment, it’ll do ’til something better comes along.