Many striking clocks in the early 1900s had holes for the winding keys in the 8 and 4 positions, so setting the hands at 8:20 tended to cover the keyholes. I do not know if the symmetry of this pattern influenced the design to encourage placement of the holes or not.
Also note that clocks with Roman numerals appeared more dense at XII, IV and VIII - adding to the symmetry with hands showing 8:20.
cmoose
I assume this is the column you’re referring to?
I read that the reason marketing uses 10:10 is because it subliminally reminds people of a smiling face. I can see that.
I would point out that if I were doing an ad that showed several clocks simultaneously, I would likely set them at the same time. I would find it awkward for one set to 8:20 and another set for 6:13 and another for 11:27. YMMV.
So seeing a mix of digital and analog clocks set to 8:20 makes sense, for the reason that 8:20 makes sense on an analog clock face.
I had heard many years abo the the setting of 3:40 or 8:20 gave to best open space fot the watch’s name or an advertising message on the clock face.