Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17129
Location: North Carolina
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 Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 2:03 pm Post subject: FEATURED THREADS for 2-17-23 |
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Below are several superb examples of how the car ads from the 1960s presented fine illustrations of how wonderful life could be. 
These were ads for automobiles that looked the way the kids of that era thought car would be in the future . . . except that we could get them right now!
Admittedly cars today are much more technically advanced — but they just don't have the sexy look of a sci-fi future! 
Ironically the TV ads for the new Dodge Hornet are designed to appear like a trailer for a sci-fi movie! 
_________ Dodge Hornet | Swarming The Nation
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The Hornet looks practical, energy efficient, and easy to park . . . but the poor little runt just doesn't look very "futuristic". 
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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars
What struck me about these two beautiful pieces of artwork is the way they present the personally rewarding lifestyles of the people they depict. The lucky fellow in the car is flirting with the ladies. The two guys on the right are going camping.
Not a bad life, I'd say.
Both the illustration above and the one below show elegant homes in the background and groups of people who obviously have there lives well in order. I really admire that kind of optimism. It offers the same kind of hope that those Disney "science fact" programs did when they showed us a bright and imaginative future.
This was the bright and imaginative present. We didn't have to wait for it, all we had to do was go to college, get a challenging high-level position with a big corporation, and then head down the Pontiac dealership! 
The text in the ad above describes the advanced engineering of the car — but not with technical terms that few people would understand. It talks about how the car's engineering will feel during the owner's driving experience.
"You feel steady, secure, confident in your driving skills."
The Pontiac Safari station wagon came in a nine-passenger model with a fold-up third bench seat in the cargo area — perfect for an upwardly mobile family who had plenty of friends or plenty of kids!
Back in the 1980s I had a buddy in Atlanta who bought a used Pontiac Safari for a few thousand dollars, and he showed me why it was the perfect "Drive-In movie car" for him and his family, who were hoping to enjoy warm summer evenings at the world famous Starlight Six Drive-in — which is still in operation to this day!
In fact, the Starlight Six Drive-in is so legendary that it has it's own listing on the Internet Movie Database!
The rear seat of the Pontiac Safari faces backwards, so when the station wagon is parked with the rear facing the drive-in screen and both the rear hatches are open, it makes a very comfortable "recliner" . . . with no windshield or dashboard to block your view of the screen!
My friend came up with a brilliant use of this remarkable automobile, and it proved that 1960s American engineering could combine with 1980s American ingenuity to provide a "personally rewarding lifestyle", as it did in the 1960s — several decades after the sparkling new models of this automobile graced the showroom floors of Pontiac dealerships nationwide.
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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars
| Gord Green wrote: | The amazing thing about these ads, and the imagined Disney Utopia, is that they failed to show the dichotomy of life in the 50's-60's.
The same kids who viewed these on their TV sets at home were being taught "Duck and Cover" and the need for fall-out shelters daily at school. |
We seem to have a different view about the intrinsic value and the true intent of both the car ads and the Disney science fact programs.
The Disney programs were meant to inspire the public and encourage them to work towards making those dreams of space exploration possible. I may be misunderstanding your comment above, but the Disney programs didn't "fail to show the dichotomy of life in the 50's-60's" — they succeeded in showing us that we could improve the state of the world!
They didn't pretend that bad things weren't happening in the world at that time, they were just suggesting that good things could happen in the world of tomorrow . . . if we MAKE them happen.
| Gord Green wrote: | | These great full color ads and Disney programming were aimed at lifting some of that doom and gloom and, at least, showing an alternative future as it further stimulated a capitalist economy. |
Again, I may be misunderstanding your comments, but you make it sound like the purpose of the Disney programs was just to take our minds off the unpleasant aspects of society. 
But that's not what they were attempting to do at all. That was the purpose of the lighthearted movies of the Depression Era. They simply offered a brief distraction from the bad times the nation was going through. They weren't trying to inspire people to go out and be funny while singing and dancing like Fred and Ginger! 
The Disney programs succeeded in inspiring us to actually do what they depicted: start an ambitious space program that yielded a bonanza of new technology and gave us pride in our nation!
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As a direct result of that, life in the 1960s had a new elegance and luster that is beautifully illustrated in those ad.
Yes, I know, this Good Life was mostly for the middle and upper class white folks. That's an aspect of society that needed to change.
I realize that the ads' primary purpose was to promote the sale of automobiles — but this was done by encouraging people to seek financial security and personal success, and the nations minorities were inspired to fight for the right to have this Good Life as well!
They're still fighting . . . but they're winning.
Neither the Disney programs nor the magazine ads tried to claim that life would be a utopia someday. They both just attempted to show us the great possibilities before us.
Slowly but surely, those possibilities are being realized. But obviously we have quite a ways to go.
Gord, I'm looking at these magazine ads from the point of view of an artist who sees the way these paintings inspired people to live rich and fulfilling lives. And that's exactly what the Disney artists and filmmakers were doing, too.
The message in both cases could be described with phrases like these.
"Set your sights high!"
"Don't be afraid to dream big!"
"A person's reach should exceed his grasp!"
"Get out there and have The Time of Your Life!"
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Outrageous Magazine Ads for 1960s Cars
In the previous magazine ads I posted, the focus was on glamorous lifestyles and the role a wide-track Pontiac played in them. The ads featured elegant homes in the background, and wealthy young people with their friends.
In one ad we see a group of guys getting ready to go camping, and in the other we see two couples, one of which is about to go off in a stately horse-drawn carriage!
The message was clear: live life to the fullest.
However, the well-worded ad below presents another very appealing idea. The Pontiac it illustrates is presented as a virtual "magic carpet" which can transport it's proud owners to exotic destinations!
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"Where there's fun, there's Pontiac!"
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The opening line sets the tone, and the ad goes on to praise the sleek styling of the car. But the picture above it is what captures the eye of the potential buyer.
A snowbound landscape, a frozen lake, and a group of athletic young people are preparing to go ice sailing!
This ad doesn't just invite you to buy a new car, it inspires you to fantasize about personal adventures and new challenges — things you never even considered doing before!
And if ice sailing doesn't temp you, the ad below pulls out all the stops and puts two sleek, futuristic Pontiacs smack in middle of a travel brochure that has something for everyone!
A sunny seaside vista, a romantic evening on the town, a day on the ski slopes, and a country estate that offers hunting and horseback riding!
And just how does one reach all these exciting locations? Why, that's easy? You just climb into your Pontiac . . . and glide away on your magic carpet!
Rather than brag about gas mileage and safety records and mechanical dependability, these ads invite the potential buyers to think about how their new car could make their dreams come true. These ads aren't just selling automobiles — they're selling adventure, romance, and long journeys to far away places!
Folks, I salute the advertising geniuses of General Motors.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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