Shinola has turned Gilda Radner into one of its most understated celebrity tributes yet, pairing a limited watch release with a campaign fronted by two generations of Saturday Night Live comedy. The Detroit brand’s Great American series now includes watches inspired by the Motor City-born performer, whose influence still reaches across comedy and fashion culture.
The collection arrived last month to mark Radner’s birthday and includes two models with her name worked into the back, the band, and the packaging. Shinola’s approach stays subtle, but the connection is clear enough for fans who know the late comedian’s legacy and the place she holds in the original SNL cast.
| Watch | Limit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Gilda Radner Runwell Automatic Watch | 400 units | $2,500 |
| Gilda Radner Runabout Watch | 300 units | $1,995 |
| Travel jewelry case | — | $225 |
The campaign leans on two very different eras of SNL
Shinola’s campaign brings together SNL alum Molly Shannon and current cast member Ashley Padilla, along with Alan Zweibel, one of the show’s original writers. Dana Mosa-Basha, Shinola’s director of marketing, said the pairing worked because Shannon and Padilla share what made Radner so beloved: they are funny, but also willing to be vulnerable and deeply human.
Padilla told Rolling Stone that getting involved felt like an easy yes, especially because she got to speak with Shannon about Radner. Shannon said Radner was a major part of her early TV viewing, describing her as one of the first women she saw doing original character-driven comedy.
Why Radner still matters to the people carrying her name forward
Shannon said she used to watch Saturday Night Live after babysitting jobs, once the kids were asleep and the parents had not yet returned home. She said Radner “paved the way for so many women after her,” a view that matches the broader place Radner holds in the show’s history.
Padilla said her own path into SNL came through YouTube, where she learned by hunting down sketches rather than watching the show in real time. That made Radner’s story even more striking to her, especially as she thought about the pressure on women in comedy in the 1970s and on a show that was just getting started.
The two performers met briefly during the SNL 50 celebrations and again when Shannon appeared during Season 51’s Will Ferrell-hosted episode. Padilla said Shannon has been kind and full of advice, while Shannon said the nerves of live performance never really disappear, even for veterans.
The watches also carry a charitable connection. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, which supports people impacted by cancer, tying the release back to Radner’s own life and the illness that figured in her autobiography It’s Always Something.