Bite Size Comms
Bite Size Comms is a weekly podcast that will give you a perspective on an aspect of public relations and communications practice. Bite size as they are short opinion pieces on topical issues. The episodes are sometimes contentious, sometimes funny, and they all aim to provoke thought.
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Bite Size Comms
Time
This post won’t improve your PR/comms. However, it has some fascinating facts that will amaze (or bore) people in your network or down the pub! It is about how time is represented in communications work.
Time
This post won’t improve your PR/comms. However, it has some fascinating facts that will amaze (or bore) people in your network or down the pub! It is about how time is represented in communications work.
Exhibit number one. Apple devices in promotional pictures consistently show 9:41 am as a tribute to the company's history. This tradition began with Steve Jobs' announcement of the first iPhone in 2007 when the product reveal was planned for approximately 40 minutes into the presentation, which started at 9:00 am. Initially, Apple used 9:42 am for the first iPhone launch, but this changed to 9:41 am with the introduction of the iPad in 2010. It continues to this day. iPhones and iPads appear to be stuck at 9:41!
There is an exception. The Apple Watch is the only device that breaks this pattern, displaying 10:09 in promotional pictures. This time was chosen to create a pleasing symmetrical arrangement of the watch hands, similar to that used by watch manufacturers, who typically use 10:10. That’s exhibit two, so hang on to that!
Why has Apple continued to use 9:41? Apple’s former iOS chief Scott Forstall explained that keynotes were deliberately designed for major product reveals to occur around 40 minutes into presentations, allowing the displayed time to match the actual time on audience members' watches closely. The company has maintained this 9:41 am tradition across all communications materials for iPhones, iPads, and Macs as a subtle homage to Steve Jobs and the original iPhone launch.
Exhibit number two. If you ask AI to generate an image for you, and that image features an analogue clock - maybe a grandfather clock in the background - the time on the clock will show 10:10. Consistently and without fail. Why? Watch manufacturers predominantly display 10:10 in promotional images for aesthetic and psychological reasons. The 10:10 position creates a symmetrical V-shape that frames the watch's face and keeps the manufacturer's logo visible beneath the 12 o'clock position. This hand position is also said to resemble a smiling face, creating a positive emotional response in viewers.
There is a bit of history behind this fact. Before the 1950s, watch advertisements commonly showed 8:20, which offered similar symmetry but resembled a frowning face. The shift to 10:10 became standard during the 1950s as marketing became more psychologically sophisticated.
AI is a copier, not a creator. So, it will see all those images of clocks set to 10:10, which is presumed to be the only time analogue clocks show. AI isn’t intelligent. It's just a useful, super-fast database.
Oh, there is some dissent on 10:10. Seiko has used 10:08:42 since 1964 to express dynamism. Yeah, yeah! Marketing. And Timex displays 10:09:36 to prevent obscuring dials in the bottom half. Really!
Scientific research in psychology has confirmed that watches set to 10:10 induce significantly stronger feelings of pleasure than other time settings, even though consumers are not consciously aware of this effect. Maybe I should set my analogue watch to stay at 10:10. Have fun!
[Image: Jeanne Rouillard on Unsplash]
