Swiss luxury sport watchmaker TAG Heuer introduced the industry’s first extensive online advertising campaign Wednesday. The project, starting at $1 million, makes TAG Heuer the largest Internet advertiser for the watch and jewelry industry, claims the brand, and the only luxury watch brand with an interactive online campaign.

The ad campaign also is greatest single-brand online presence to date for TAG Heuer’s parent firm, LVMH’s (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey).

The launch is timed for the holiday selling season. More than 26 million “impressions” (i.e., the number of times an ad is presented on a Web site) are expected in November and December on many Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Yahoo.com, PGA.com, InStyle.com, CNNMoney.com, Forbes.com, and Style.com.

“We already have one of the broadest and most innovative marketing strategies in the luxury watch world,” said Jenna Fagnan, vice president of marketing for TAG Heuer N.A. “The digital initiative adds the next layer and enables us to reach consumers where they spend, an average, three hours a day – online.”

A distinctive aspect of TAG Heuer’s online campaign is the interactive nature of its banner ads. There is an animated “parent,” or leader, board and a corresponding “child” banner which initially blends in with the editorial content of a site’s page. A story begins on the top leader board, then interrupts the child banner, setting up the question “What Are You Made Of?” (the brand’s tag line). Clicking on either banner ad takes visitors to an animated “landing” page that continues the story and answers the question in the voice of one of TAG Heuer’s featured brand ambassadors.

Those are athletes Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, and Jeff Gordon, who describe challenges they overcame, both personal and professional, and how it shaped them. They also discuss “what are you made of” principles they share with TAG Heuer, and why they aligned themselves with the brand.

Also shown is each brand ambassador’s TAG Heuer watch, which ties in to a computer’s time/date feature and displays real time.

Visitors also can click on a link on the brand’s global Web site to find an authorized TAG Heuer dealer near them.

JCK