When Brad Pitt was spotted on set of Apple Original Films' "F1" wearing an unreleased IWC Ingenieur with a green dial, it triggered immediate speculation across the global watch and lifestyle community. The watch didn't officially exist. No catalog entry, no press release, no explanation. Instead of issuing a standard product statement, we turned the mystery into a story.
In 1976, legendary watch designer Gérald Genta created the original IWC Ingenieur. Despite its technical and aesthetic innovation, the watch was launched during the height of the quartz crisis and was not a commercial success at the time. Nearly 50 years later, the model found new relevance when Brad Pitt personally customized a unique version with a green dial for his character in the movie "F1".
To give this unexpected product moment historical depth, we developed a cinematic prequel to "F1". The short film blends real horological history with fiction, taking viewers back to the 1970s. It tells the story of a racing driver who puts the original Ingenieur prototype to the test under real racing conditions. After his first victory, he customizes the watch with a green dial—creating a fictional lineage that explains how the unique piece eventually found its way onto the wrist of a modern racing icon decades later.
To ensure authenticity, the production design, casting, and cinematography were closely aligned with historical records, developed in collaboration with the family of the late Gérald Genta. The film was shot using a combination of analog film and vintage digital cameras from the 1990s to visually represent the passage of time across decades.
The film was released globally across more than 20 markets, placed directly in cinemas ahead of "F1" screenings. By positioning the prequel in the exact environment where the movie's story unfolds, we engaged a highly relevant audience at the moment of highest attention. The campaign successfully connected IWC’s design heritage with pop culture, which was further reflected in the market response: a limited run of 1,000 pieces of the green Ingenieur, released alongside the campaign, sold out immediately.