Gerard Depardieu launches ad campaign for “Proud to be Russian” watches

French actor Gerard Depardieu has launched a strange new advertising campaign to promote his new line of watches “Proud to be Russian”. In the commercial, posted on YouTube, Depardieu addresses viewers in Russian, inviting them to “rendezvous in Moscow, on 17 December at the Four Seasons Hotel in Red Square”, before brandishing his watch-clad wrist in front of the camera.

The watches, produced by Swiss manufacturer Cvstos, bear the Russian state symbol of a two-headed eagle on the watch face, and are for sale for between $20,000 and $30,000 each.

Depardieu was awarded Russian citizenship in 2013 under the decree of Vladimir Putin, after the actor fled his native France in protest against the introduction of a 75% supertax on annual earnings over €1m ($1.3m), to Russia which has a flat income tax rate of 13%.

In July this year, Depardieu announced plans to produce an environmentally friendly “bio-vodka” in Russia to be produced from only the “purest” ingredients.