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[Bud Brewster]

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The magazine ads for American cars back in the 1960s we’re outrageous! The ad copy painted mental pictures of an opulent lifestyle, with sexual imagery appliced very skillfully.

In short, the ads were portraits of the ultimate American Dream.

Check out the post below and you’ll see examples of some of the most imaginative and colorful advertising strategies that Madison Avenue ever conceived.

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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars

A few days ago I was having breakfast in my favorite restaurant, Phat Daddy's Cafe, and I found a true work of art . . . on the wall in the rest room!

I went to the men's room to wash my hands and discovered that the entire wall above the sink was wallpapered with magazine ads for 1960s automobiles. They were gorgeous!

The largest and the best of the bunch was the one shown below, an amazing ad for the 1962 Buick Wildcat. The painting of it is pretty good, but the true star of the show is the text that makes the most outrageous claims for the wondrous features of this automobile, using terms and phrases that make it sound like the car everybody in America would be buying soon.

That, of course, was the whole idea.

You can click on the image below and zoom in on a 2,500 pixel wide version to easily read the text, or you can just read the cropped portions of the text below the ad. After reading through the advertisement and laughing until your sides hurt, scroll down for a few comments from me about the conversation I had with a several of the customers and waitresses at Phat Daddy's Cafe when I told them about the main slogan under the picture of the car.









Okay, let's take this remarkable work of literature one sentence at a time. First we'll consider the blatant sexual references contained in the main tag line.

Buick introduces torrid new luxury sports car! First with the sure-footed sock of advanced thrust!

We have the word "torrid" (as in torrid love affair). Then there's the word "sock" (as in sock it to her). And finally, there's the word "thrust", which speaks loud-and-clear for itself!

All those words were mentioned specifically by the waitresses at Phat Daddy's Cafe as being sexually charged and capable of starting forest fires that Smokey the Bear would object to.

And I'm sure that you guys are cackled like I did when you read the words "the sure-footed sock of advanced thrust" — a phrase so brazenly macho it just drips testosterone!

All those terms are in the main tag line! Consider the sheer balls of the ad men who wrote the rest of the ad! For example, it explains just what "advanced thrust" is.

Advanced thrust that places the rip-snorting Wildcat V-8 engine far forward over the front wheels.

Wow . . . that's awesome. The engine isn't just under the hood, it's "far forward over the front wheels". I guess they had to put the radiator back against the firewall and do away the car's grill and headlights.

But it was worth it, because it gives us "straight arrow tracking, even in crosswinds"! Gosh, no wonder my poor car keeps getting blown off the road.

And the Wildcat also gets "flat cornering" and "instant wheel response".

Well damn, my car always leans to one side when I go around a corner. I thought that was normal! And my "wheel response" probably takes a few microseconds! Why can't it be "instant" like the Wildcat?

We also shouldn't overlook those "posh vinyl seats". Good lord, my 2001 Chevy Lumina has soft cloth seats, and I foolishly thought that was good, because they didn't get hot in the summer and stick to my legs when I wore shorts!

All this time I could have had posh vinyl seats, and I didn't even know it!

And what about that "illuminated tachometer" on the center console? I've got a tachometer, and it lights up with all the rest of dashboard displays, but it's not down on the center console . . . which must be cooler, because the Wildcat has that!

Gee . . . who knew, eh?

Furthermore, I'm pretty sure I don't have "finned aluminum front brakes for surer stopping". So, it's just by the grace of God that I haven't collided with a telephone pole and gone right through the windshield!

I guess I've just been livin' on borrowed time since 1962 because I haven't been driving around in a "torrid new luxury sport cars", one of those "sports-bred Buick Wildcats".

Hey, wait a minute!

Isn't the Buick Wildcat the beautiful car that Shannon drove in the 1961-1962 series?

Oh my God, that car is gorgeous! I wish I HAD been driving around in one of those all these years. I'd have been beating off the hot chicks with a stick!



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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars

I was hoping the TV commercials for the Wildcat and the Catalina would be a bit like the magazine ads, but the one for the Wildcat in disappointing, even though it reminds me of drive-in snackbar plugs about how great the food is.

_____________________ Buick Wildcat 1962


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However, the one for the Pontiac La Sabre is packed with promises about how your life will change and the world will envy you. It's fun to watch. Very uplifting, in a way — life a self-motivation program to give you more self-esteem.


____ 1964 Buick LeSabre Convertible Commercial


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And I found a magazine ad for the Catalina and the Bonnieville with stunning artwork! The way the green tropical background and the golden desert background blend together is brilliant!

Look for the artists' signatures on the lower right. Apparently two artists collaborated on this beautiful painting.

~ Click on the image to see a 2,000 pixel version you can zoom in on to admire the gorgeous details and easily read the text.


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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars

While acquiring and enhancing 20 more of the beautiful magazine ads for Pontiac automobiles which feature some stunning artwork, I noticed a common theme to the paintings which I find very appealing.

The ads don't just show beautiful cars . . . they show beautiful and prosperous people at enjoyable events, demonstrating lifestyles that embody the American Dream!

So, the selling points these masterful ads use to attract buyers isn't limited to just big, beautiful cars — they also illustrate people who are living life to the fullest. The cars are the elegant means by which they travel to picturesque places.

And rather than showing us one smiling man sitting behind the wheel of his spectacular car, we see both the man and his significant other, or even an entire family complete with kids!

We even see women driving the cars in some cases. Consider this illustration of a lovely lady flirting with a man next to her car . . . at a polo field!





And the one below shows a handsome couple getting ready to go out on their yacht! The man in his snappy captain's cap is a subtle way of saying that he's in charge.





Read and text below the illustration and take note of macho phrases like — "This is the car that answers your commands with flawless precision on curves and turns."

And the way the ad describes the car in terms of expensive lifestyles and opulent wealth is a brilliant way to attract the gal's attention.

"Once aboard, you travel first class." — (A luxury liner reference.)

"Pontiac's color-coded interiors are fabulous." — (A home decor reference that appeals to women.)

"Created from high-fashion material, they're tailored and fitted with pain-staking care." — (An obvious fashion reference, again to appeal to the ladies.)

I've got eighteen more illustrations like these, some with text and some without. But I won't post them all at once so you folks can add your own comments.

Do these ads make you wistful for the Good Old Days when America was about to launch it's space program and inspire the country, while President John F. Kennedy was the darlin' of the entire nation?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)