The luxury watch category has long been a place where brands speak in hushed tones about Swiss movements, heritage, and the sort of timelessness that requires you to spend several thousand dollars to appreciate. Shinola, the Detroit-based watchmaker founded in 2011, has apparently decided to try something different: talking about time as a source of anxiety rather than aspiration.

The brand's first formal advertising campaign — yes, first, after 15 years in business — takes the form of a short film directed by Nicholas Braun, the actor best known for playing the agreeably hapless Cousin Greg on "Succession." In "The Restaurant," Mr. Braun addresses his own wristwatch with the sort of therapeutic candor usually reserved for couples counseling. "You make me feel anxious," he tells the timepiece. "And stressed, like I'm always in a rush."

The film, created by GentleForces, a London-based agency that will serve as Shinola's first brand partner, features the Runwell, the watch that started the company back in 2011. (It is unclear whether the Runwell responded to Mr. Braun's concerns, or whether it simply continued ticking.)

Dana Mosa-Basha, Shinola's director of marketing, said the campaign represents a deliberate shift away from the brand's previous storytelling, which had centered on Detroit, manufacturing, and optimism. "This campaign isn't centered around product features, a deep dive into craftsmanship, or our manufacturing process — it's centered around a feeling," Ms. Mosa-Basha said.

Mr. Braun, who was originally engaged merely to appear in the spot, ended up directing it after expressing what the agency called "genuine curiosity" about the story. Quba Tuakli, the creative practice lead at GentleForces, said the premise of a date gone philosophical was intended to ground the commentary "in a humorous, real-life situation we can all relate to."

A second chapter of the campaign is expected in the fall, "in a similar vein but with a more playful spirit," according to Danni Mohammed, the agency's founder.

Whether American consumers are ready to confront their complicated feelings about time while shopping for watches remains, of course, to be seen.

Original story published in Adweek: "Shinola Puts Succession's Nicholas Braun Behind the Camera for a Meditation on Time"