Why is it Always 10:10?

While reading Stuart Elliott's In Advertising email, I ran across something I had always wondered and wanted to share with everyone: Why do watches in ads always read 10:10? If you have never noticed this, start paying attention and see if you can spot one not sat at 10:10 (this isn't as easy as it sounds!)

Andrew Adam Newman of The New York Times reports in a recent check of the 100 top-selling men’s dress watches on Amazon.com, which included models from 20 brands, all but three watches were set to 10:10.

So why are watches photographed at 10:10? Apparently, it’s like an unwritten photography rule due to the 10 and 2 hand positions framing the brand and logo usually centered on the upper half of the watch. Also, if you look closely, the watch hands are ‘smiling,’ giving off a happy feeling. This is a typical subconscious technique used in print advertising.

Timex’s official time for every watch (even digital models) photographed for marketing purposes is sat to 10:09:36. This results in the second hand appearing centered at the bottom of their watches. The company also ships their watches turned off at this time so all store displays are synchronized.

So what about other ‘times’? The majority of iPhones in commercials read 9:42 a.m. This is rumored to represent the time when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at a MacWorld conference in 2007.