TIMEX VS THE SIPPY HOLE

   John Cameron Swayze said it, and said it, and said it: "Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'." The Timex watch tagline was one of the most repeated in its day. On one of those days Timex was in Naples.

  A series of commercials pitted the durable Timex against abuse far above normal. Shown tied to boat bottoms, run over by cars, trampled by horses, after the action was over the camera would zoom in on the watch and show the rugged time piece still running. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. And it was all true. Kinda.

  When Timex came to Naples they chose the Swamp Buggy track's Sippy Hole as a suitable challenge for the ticker. Sheriff Doug Hendry was to drive a swamp buggy with a Timex taped to one of the huge airplane tires through the treacherous hole and, emerging on the other side, show the watch was unscathed. He did and this was the shot that appeared on TV. Mostly. The real work, was done by Don Harris, then a Deputy with the CCSO and later with the NPD. Doug was too busy a man to hang around all day driving a buggy in and out of a mud hole.
  So, Don did it. And did it. And did it. All day long until the director finally got the shot he was looking for--a Timex that was still ticking after the thumping and dunking.
  The commercials, you see, were legit. They just didn't tell you how many times it took to get one to survive the beating.
Don was sent residuals--payments of about $30 for every time the commercial was aired--for several years thereafter. He donated them to the Junior Deputy program, as was the deal Doug had set up with the producers.
  Don't know what happened to all the watches that drowned in the Sippy Hole.