Does anyone know why all watch ads are set to 10:10?

[luv2sparkle]

My son is doing a collage art project and cut out watch ads to use for a part of the picture he is creating and he noticed every watch is set for about 10:10 and
40 seconds. Does anyone know why, and who the heck decided that? He has gone through a years worth of magazine and it is every brand. I have never before noticed this. Any ideas?

 

[atroop711]

never noticed this and now I will be on the look out. Maybe they do this because it''s visually appealing?

 

[CDNinNYC]

I never noticed before but this is what I found out online:


"The consensus of opinion (confirmed by Timex) is that clock and watch hands in advertisements are typically set at 10:10 so that the company's logo
will be well-displayed. In addition, this position of the hands resembles a smile.

'Q: WHEN YOU SEE AN AD WITH A CLOCK IN IT THE HANDS ARE ALWAYS POSITIONED AT 10:10?

A: WE CALLED TIMEX FOR YOUR ANSWER AND IT SAYS THE HANDS ON A CLOCK ARE PLACED AT TEN-TEN BECAUSE IT'S A CREATIVE STANDARD INDUSTRY.

TIMEX SAYS THE HANDS ON TIMEPIECES ARE PLACED AT TEN-TEN SO THE COMPANY LOGO ON THE FACE WILL BE FRAMED AND NOT BLOCKED BY THE HANDS.
TIMEX SAYS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD USED TO BE EIGHT-TWENTY BUT THAT LOOKED TOO MUCH LIKE A FROWN AND CREATED AN UNHAPPY LOOK.

TIMEX SAYS IN ITS ADS, THE CLOCK HANDS ARE PLACED AT TEN-NINE AND THIRTY SIX SECONDS, EXACTLY.'"


Interesting.

 

[jewelerman]

It is suppose to be the least amount of coverage and distraction on the dial and numbers and the most easy to see the hands at one time by comsumers.

 

[vip0802]

interesting...i never thought about that!

i''m guessing it''s to display all the hands evenly spread across the face, while displaying the brand name too. it''s insane what advertisers go through to make their product visually appealing!

 

[luv2sparkle]

Well thank you so much-another mystery solved. We had a collective ahhhhh moment!

 

[cammy85]

I''ve also heard a cheesier side of it - 10:10 makes the hands of the clock look a little like a smiley, which is visually appealing to the consumer.

Yeah. I wish I could find the source, but I did actually read that somewhere. haha.

 

[kiett98]

Too funny that they even set their digital watches to 10:09:36!

 

[joflier]

It amazes me how there''s an industry standard for everything!!! But I will say, it does look visually appealing at that time.

 

[D&T]

Date: 7/29/2009 7:02:56 PM
Author: CDNinNYC
I never noticed before but this is what I found out online:


''The consensus of opinion (confirmed by Timex) is that clock and watch hands in advertisements are typically set at 10:10 so that the company''s logo
will be well-displayed. In addition, this position of the hands resembles a smile.

''Q: WHEN YOU SEE AN AD WITH A CLOCK IN IT THE HANDS ARE ALWAYS POSITIONED AT 10:10?

A: WE CALLED TIMEX FOR YOUR ANSWER AND IT SAYS THE HANDS ON A CLOCK ARE PLACED AT TEN-TEN BECAUSE IT''S A CREATIVE STANDARD INDUSTRY.

TIMEX SAYS THE HANDS ON TIMEPIECES ARE PLACED AT TEN-TEN SO THE COMPANY LOGO ON THE FACE WILL BE FRAMED AND NOT BLOCKED BY THE HANDS.
TIMEX SAYS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD USED TO BE EIGHT-TWENTY BUT THAT LOOKED TOO MUCH LIKE A FROWN AND CREATED AN UNHAPPY LOOK.

TIMEX SAYS IN ITS ADS, THE CLOCK HANDS ARE PLACED AT TEN-NINE AND THIRTY SIX SECONDS, EXACTLY.''''


Interesting.

interesting... or maybe most stores open at 10 am and so they put a subliminal message to you to come it 10 after

 

[Dancing Fire]

Rolex set at 10:10 and 31 sec for many yrs. Patek Philippe set at 10:09. most Langes are set at 1:51 and 33 sec.

 

[Steel]

What an interesting thread! Thanks all.

 

[Moh 10]

Date: 7/30/2009 1:25:41 PM
Author: Steel
What an interesting thread! Thanks all.

Very timely too.

 

[brightlight]

Apparently, you're not the only one who wonders about this. This was on my Yahoo frontpage today. http://blogs.static.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/30391.html

It's for aesthetic purposes: framing logo, hands don't overlap and are symmetrical, looks like a smile, and doesn't obscure other elements on the face.
A few interesting rumored explanations are also mentioned.

 

[ckrickett]

you learn something new every day!