Tags: Review | Timex | Classic | Retro
14.3.2022 | 10 MIN
The business strategy of Timex might be simple, but it is also highly functional and has been perfected over the years. There are many iconic timepieces which were tested by generations in the Timex portfolio, which are sometimes cleverly and officially "branded" by famous names known across the world. That's how timepieces with interesting designs are made, and we could say without a shadow of doubt that they are a collector's cherry on top. And the top is also the aim of the current Timex Coca-Cola collection.
This collection was created in collaboration with the very well-known brand of refreshing beverages Coca-Cola, to remind us of its iconic "Hilltop" commercial. In 2021, this advertisement, which was a huge marketing success, celebrated half a century since it was aired.
Some might think that Timex only wants to have their share in this legendary event, however, I think of this step as an example of the original thought being beautifully carried out: every one of the three Timex "Hilltop" models is entirely different, yet together, they create a perfectly harmonious line.
The '70s are just beginning, and yet another important social revolution is changing the world. There's the Vietnam War, growth of racism, and don't forget the constant threat of the Cold War. People have simply had enough. Hippies are entering the scene to "fight" for friendship, freedom, love, harmony, and art, of course. The society acknowledges them, as well as some megacorporations which are sharing their peaceful ideas at least via mass marketing.
The creative people at Coca-Cola are coming on stage with a quite genius idea: let's show people that even something as simple as a soft drink can bring us together. This original task was given to the creator of the advertisement Harvey Gabor, who might have already worked with Coca-Cola, but was on a thin ice at that time because of a not very well executed marketing campaign. So for him, this was his second chance to prove himself.
It was actually Gabor's boss, Bill Backer, who helped him come up with this advertisement. Backer himself was the creator of many successful soundtracks for the Coca-Cola company. When waiting at the airport, he scribbled "I' like to buy the world a Coke" on a napkin, and voilà, an idea was born!
Backer came up with a simple, yet genius melody, which immediately mesmerised Harvey Gabor. He imagined a scene where a large group of singing young people wanted to show the world the power of unity with a song.
Coca-Cola put the record amount of $ 100 000 towards the advertisement, which was about twice as much as the average amount back then, and all seemed to be perfect. But as it happens, there were all sorts of complications and problems when working on the video. It was supposed to be shot in England, but the shooting was ruined by the weather. So, the actors, hundreds of schoolkids, all went home with a sad look on their faces. The staff took the filming to Italy then, hoping for some better shots. Not even this helped, and, what's worse, they ran out of money.
Gabor remembers how they would run in the streets of Rome with his colleagues, asking every beautiful girl to take part in this commercial. Coca-Cola made a last-minute decision of giving another unbelievable $ 150 000 towards this spot advertising, and Gabor fortunately happened to run into a British au-pair, who would become the main focus of the video, in one of the streets. Once the filming was finished, the hardest part was ahead, to defend the commercial in front of their boss and their client, and mainly to attract customers.
Harvey Gabor directing one of the most known commercials of all time.
Harvey Gabor said that if people remembered him only because of this advertisement, his life had been worth it, and his words became true. The new Coca-Cola commercial, which got its name after the hill on which people sang "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke," "Hilltop," was revolutionary. Coca-Cola was getting snowed under with thousands positive letters and positive feedback from all around the world, and the campaign became the symbol of unity and harmony, as well as one of the most well-known advertisements in history.
A few years back, Coca-Cola decided to look back at the tradition thanks to digitalization. Believe it or not, they managed to cooperate with the Harvey Gabor himself again, and, on top of that, the digital giant, Google.
They all put their heads together and the whole idea of "Hilltop" was reborn thanks to digitalization. In the campaign, which is now mostly on phone and tablet screens, people could buy a coke to anyone in the world and send it to them, showing unity and the strength of friendship. The campaign was again very successful, event got an award at the Cannes international festival, and so the idea of "let's buy the world a coke" brought the world together again.
What's worth mentioning is even the stylish, detailed packaging itself, the packaging of the whole collection. It's definitely no ugly boxes, the packaging are well designed pieces, highlighting this extraordinary collection and its value for collectors. These pleasing-to-the-eye boxes are printed in a retro style with orange floral "hippie" decoration with black, orange, red, and pink stripes.
The special box for the Q Reissue and the Standard.
I think I don't have to explain the Timex logo and elements of Coca-Cola's corporate design, as well as the texts celebrating the "Hilltop" campaign. What will grab your attention is mainly the bold typography of the year 1971, clearly inspired the popular logo of the summer Olympic games in Mexico 1968. Put simply, you're definitely going to keep the packaging, and if it's a gift, it's going to take breaths away.
The special box of the T-80 digital watch.
At first glance, the packaging of the T-80 model, clearly inspired by the packaging style of Apple Watches, is different from the others. Inside the beautiful cover with the bold hippie font and texts in the shape of a Coca-Cola bottle, there is cardboard packaging, which looks like a book with the watch itself hiding inside its pages. It's a brilliant idea, however, it's a shame that it's not very practical, as the watch tends to fall out of the packaging when unboxing it, so be careful right from the start!
Probably everyone knows that the main hook of this collection is the design, so that's why I will be focusing on that, too. Let's face it – all three models are pretty much an evergreen offer of the brand, about which everything has been said, and to repeat all the unnecessary information would be useless.
The model I was looking forward to the most is probably the Timex T-80 Coca-Cola. I simply love digital watches, and so I was curious to see how this model would be compared to my favourite Casio, an appropriate competition of Timex. And it wasn't easy for the T-80 because among my most favourite watches are the iconic Casio Full Metal watches, and I do get protective over them.
But I was pleasantly surprised by the Timex watch! Of course, you can't compare it very well with a model which costs almost six times more, but you can describe it as the perfect digital watch reminiscing of the good ol' '80s.
The metal case, with the diameter of almost 35 mm, looks bold, and we couldn't say these are miniature digital watches that no one will notice. However, the watch is light, feels nice on the wrist, and you won't feel it even after a long day of wearing.
I feel the same about the metal bracelet, which screams "the eighties" thanks to the smaller width, not so common today, and the style of it. When looking closer, you will notice that the links alternate between matte and shiny, giving the bracelet a nice, lively look.
Probably the most noticeable is, of course, the beautifully crazy and psychedelically colourful print of the face of the case, which looks like it could even be a piece by Andy Warhol. It gives the look a playful, nicely chaotic look — forget neat, this is the seventies!
To be completely honest, I was a bit disappointed by how colours look faded in real life, they are much less bold that the colourful photos used for marketing. This fact might be an advantage according to some, but I'd rather have some bold colours to show off.
There are no functions that would make the T-80 a special model, but it does have all the essentials – time, alarm clock, date, stopwatch, and that's about it. It's a shame that the watch has a "non-European" date format, which Timex could have done better, on the other hand, their patented and people's favourite INDIGLO deserves praise.
Thanks to Indiglo, the display is strongly and evenly backlit, and it could even make Casio with its LED technology in new models jealous.
Luminescence works perfectly even with the basic model, and the watch deserves a round of applause for this. Another, but genuinely original this time, feature is the famous melody of the song "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" itself, which the watch can play either as an alarm or whenever you press and hold the upper right button.
You will hear the famous melody from the commercial after pressing a button. Or in the morning as an alarm.
The case back might not be a screw down case back, which would be a miracle in this price category, nevertheless the watch states the water resistance of 30 meters, so a sudden rain shower is a piece of cake of it.
If this collection caught your eye, but you don't want to look like a Coke sales representative, then the Timex Q Reissue Coca-Cola is for you. Out of these three watches, this one is the most conservative and looks the most serious.
Looking at it, you wouldn't notice that it is associated with Coca-Cola at first. You would notice the (hinting) colourful "PEACE" written on the dial, which nicely complements the light-yellow dial plate.
The case and the bracelet are metal, with a quartz movement inside. What I am strongly against is the plastic glass, as I would not only expect, but highly request at least a mineral glass within this price category.
On the other hand, the rotating bezel, it is not the easiest to turn from its starting position. The bezel is not very bold and you will not mind it with the watch.
There will be no Indiglo light show with this watch, but it will still be nicely readable in dark thank to sharp luminescence of the dial and both main hands. The case back is secured with four screws, although you won't need to touch them since you can unscrew the battery and change it without opening the case back.
And it is very comfortable to wear, making the watch a great everyday companion.
You might think that nothing can surprise you when it's "standard." But I do have to say that I was surprised by the Timex Standard Coca-Cola in this collection, and it was a very nice surprise. It was this very model which stood out to me in photos, but I didn't know how it would be in real life.
This watch is bursting with joy, good mood, and its easy-going energy. The nylon strap itself gets a big thumbs up from me, it's firm, but comfortable on the wrist at the same time. This is partly because the bottom side is completely smooth. A beautiful crown, with the Timex logo engraved, nicely shaped and indented, is sitting in its rightful place on the relatively big, round case. This crown would be fit even for watches from much higher price categories.
The crown is also an element making you feel one of the biggest "wow" moments, which you would not expect with a classic watch – after pressing it, the whole dial lights up thanks to the Indiglo luminescence. An exceptional thing, practical, and unique at first glance.
After pressing the crown, the whole dial lights up.
One of the dominant aspects of the dial is the bold text "Coca-Cola," which is even going beyond the format size, and has every colour you could think of. Timex itself said that the watch is 'smiling' thanks to the logo, and I couldn't describe it in better words.
The gracefulness of the whole design is accentuated by slim hands and the sophisticated second hand. I also feel like I have to point out the exemplary accuracy of the quartz movement with little deviation per month of this model.
The question constantly on my mind when I was testing this model was: Who is this watch for? I can confidently give the answer now: this watch is one of the most well-made unisex watch I had the honour to wear on my wrist.
In real life, the strap has unfortunately fewer red elements than it has on promotional photos.
So, is there even something that I didn't like about the Timex Standard? Well, I can find one detail, and by detail I really mean it – the piece I was reviewing had fewer red elements on the strap than it has on promotional photos, which (in my humble opinion) made the watch stand out a bit less. Besides that, I fell head over heels with this Standard model in the Coca-Cola edition.
It's said that the value of quality brand always exceeds the value of tangible assets of a firm, this is without a doubt true with Coca-Cola. At the same time, it is also said that if Coca-Cola were to start making bicycles, only a few enthusiasts would buy them. What are the chances of success of this union of a watch and a soft drink?
Today, having had experienced the new Coca-Cola Timex edition, I dare to say that the union has a lot of ambition at least. Collectors can get a nice timepiece for their collection for a top price, lovers of beautiful designs with a hint of retro will undoubtedly be fond of all three models, and for the others, it is a good chance to buy their first, interesting, quality watch, which are always reliable. If you're looking for something that will make you and your close ones feel happy and refreshed, I can only recommend the Coca-Cola edition by Timex.
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