10 Eccentric Vintage Car Ads From the 1960s and 1970s

In 20th century automobile print advertising, automakers often depicted their new models in settings that attracted the attention of potential customers and instilled a positive sentiment. Consequently, scenes from the beach, the mountains, the open road, a night out on the town, or even the driveway with the family simply admiring or washing their new pride-and-joy were a few of the popular concepts developed by the auto companies and their advertising agencies.

Many of the ads chosen for this article, however, show none of those inspiring notions. Rather, they generally took a more dramatic approach to elicit interest, with certain elements sometimes nearly overshadowing the vehicle they were attempting to sell. These types of ads were usually only a portion of a larger coordinated campaign, however, that also included a host of more conventional layouts. Nevertheless, they are intriguing.

Take a look the enclosed examples and see how many of them would have piqued your interest and motivated you to learn more about the car that was advertised.

1. 1961 Pontiac Catalina

It’s a daring move to make the cropped photo of the cat that big and the line drawing of the 1961 Pontiac that small in this ad. Though I’d read that the Catalina was named for Santa Catalina Island (typically just called Catalina) off the California coast, and not for a feline, the comparisons are clever.

2. 1962 Pontiac Parisienne

This pun-filled 1962 Pontiac Parisienne “recipe for zestful living” ad goes to 11—Pontiacs that is. Making the spice rack and jars so large relative to the car was a bold step, but no reader will forget the brand, as “Pontiac” is repeated on six of the eight bottles, and five more times below them.

3. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray

Chevrolet did it again in 1963 with a giant dog riding shotgun in a Sting Ray. Is this supposed to be a “Made you look!” ad where the implausible attracts your eye? It made us look twice.

4. 1964 Mercury

While many ads of the era portrayed picturesque barns in rolling pastures or as part of colorful autumn backgrounds etc., Mercury took a decidedly different direction with this 1964 ad that presents a barn on fire! Attention –grabbing? Yes. Disturbing? Also yes. Though its purpose was to highlight the adventurous-types that would be drawn to a Mercury, like volunteer firemen, still, very few car ads have shown tragedies, described here as “excitement,” in their backgrounds.

5. 1964 Cadillac

The little girl on the swing looks like she is about to clear the roof of her parents’ 1964 Cadillac with plenty of room to spare. However, if my kid was reaching that height on a swing, I think the expression on my face would show quite a bit more concern than theirs does. (Maybe her image was superimposed onto the Cadillac photo?)

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Kanekalon Wig Ads From the 1970s

Kanekalon is a modacrylic fiber introduced to the world in 1957 by Kaneka. It is a representative synthetic fiber with Japanese technology. Kanekalon is soft with a human-hair like texture, it also has a Hot Water Set technology which allows for various hairstyles. The fiber is also flame-retardant.

With these characteristics and features, Kanekalon is widely used for synthetic braiding hair and other synthetic hair attachments such as wigs.

Space Age: Egg & Ball Chairs of the 1960s and 1970s

The race for the conquest of space had a great impact on people in the mid-1960s and thus also on fashion and design. The question of how one wanted to live in the future brought forth futuristic designs and manifested itself through geometric shapes. With the Sixties Revival at the end of the 20th century came the creations of the ball chair by Finnish furniture designer Eero Aarnio in 1963 and the egg chair by Danish industrial designer Henrik Thor-Larsen in 1968.

Not only do these chairs both look simple and unconventional at the same time, but they are also irrational and rational in an almost schizophrenic way. As they create a “room in the room” similar to a futuristic space capsule, they quickly became very popular and appeared not only in ‘60s living rooms but also in science fiction films. Fantastic white and silver space worlds with softly rounded plastic furniture were shown in movies such as Barbarella (1968) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). It was these chairs that brought the Space Age into the terrestrial living rooms.

Take a look at these sixties Space Age ball and egg chairs below:

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Beautiful Vintage Adverts of Pontiac Cars in 1980

Pontiac was an American automobile brand owned, manufactured, and commercialized by General Motors. Introduced as a companion make for GM’s more expensive line of Oakland automobiles, Pontiac overtook Oakland in popularity and supplanted its parent brand entirely by 1933.

Sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by GM, in the hierarchy of GM’s five divisions, it was slotted above Chevrolet, but below Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Starting with the 1959 models, marketing was focused on selling the lifestyle that the car’s ownership promised than the car itself. By emphasizing its “Wide Track” design, it billed itself as the “performance” division of General Motors and that they “built excitement.”

The remainder of the 1970s and the early 1980s saw the rise of luxury, safety, and economy as the key selling points in Pontiac products. Wire-spoked wheel covers returned for the first time since the 1930s. More station wagons than ever were being offered. Padded vinyl roofs were options on almost every model. Rear-wheel drive began its slow demise with the introduction of the first front-wheel drive Pontiac, the 1980 Phoenix (a version of the Chevrolet Citation).

The Firebird was successfully marketed by product placement in the Smokey and the Bandit film and The Rockford Files TV show. The Firebird was available with Formula and Trans Am packages, plus a Pontiac first- a turbocharged V8, for the 1980 and 1981 model years.

1980 Pontiac Grand Prix, Grand LeMans, Grand LeMans Safari

1980 Pontiac Parisienne

1980 Pontiac Phoenix

1980 Pontiac Safari

1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

1980 Pontiac Bonneville

1980 Pontiac Bonneville

1980 Pontiac Firebird

(via The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit)

“Coke Keeps You Thin!” – 1961 Coca-Cola Commercial

In 1961, a Coca-Cola ad aired on television in which a very bold claim is made: that Coke can help to keep people thin. It’s an interesting ad because it helps to highlight some of the cultural differences between the time that it aired and today. But it also helps to show that the nature of advertising really has remained the same even as far back as sixty years ago.

The ad is represented by Connie Clausen, an attractive TV actress who was relatively well known at the time this ad was aired. Clausen starts out the clip by noting she’s a “waist-watcher from way back”. She then spends the next 60 seconds extolling the many benefits of America’s favorite soft drink. Here’s wagering you didn’t know Coke has no more calories than half a grapefruit, and is also a natural and wholesome blend of pure food flavors.

Best of all Coke also keeps you from eating something that might really add those pounds. The subliminal message from Clausen—who seems to be either mildly drunk or stoned—is that Coke keeps you thin.

Is Marriage a Failure? Not If You Use Sapolio!

Vintage advertising cards for Sapolio soap from the 19th century.

I asked a maid if she would wed, and in my home her brightness shed she bent her head and murmured low “if I can have Sapolio”.

A man with his money may have ease through life but without Sapolio there’s no ease for his life.

Enoch Morgan’s Sons Co. Sapolio soap products were, in their heyday, one of the most widely advertised products in the world. Founded in New York in 1869, Sapolio soon grew to be a household name through clever ad placement and imaginative, widely recognizable design tactics.

Sapolio noted for its advertising, led by Artemas Ward from 1883–1908. Bret Harte wrote jingles for the brand, and the sales force also included King Camp Gillette. Time magazine described Sapolio as “probably the world’s best-advertised product” in its heyday.

After decades of maintaining some of the best known advertising in the U.S., Sapolio’s owners decided that their position was sufficiently insurmountable as to let them discontinue most advertising. Despite the brand’s overwhelming market position, it was overtaken by competitors within a few years and disappeared from the market before World War II.

(Images via Boston Public Library)

Fascinating Vintage TV Set Ads From the 1960s to 1970s

Television is the first audiovisual device that changed the way people see entertainment. It opened the realm of recreation and mass communication. It alllowed people and families to watch live events in the comforts of their drawing room.



To attract buyers, numerous fascinating advertisements were launched. Take a look through a handful of vintage television set advertisements from France, Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia, Australia and more – all from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

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Strange Ads Featuring Images of Giant Babies Taking Over and Their Mini Mothers for Johnson’s Baby Products, ca. 1940s

These slightly terrifying ads featuring giant babies and tiny mothers are for Johnson’s Baby Oil & Baby Powder. They date from 1944-48.

In the ads, a giant baby exacts a vicious turnabout-is-fair-play revenge on his mother, who failed as a parent an a human being by using the wrong skin-care products on him.

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Skater Performing on a Tiny Ice Rink in Store Window, New York City, 1939

What is said to be the world’s smallest ice-skating rink was constructed in a display window of a New York City furniture store as a novel means of letting passers-by and possible customers know about the cool shopping conditions afforded by the store’s new air-conditioning plant.

This miniature ice carnival made a novel display for a store window, 1939. (via Modern Mechanix)

Measuring only twelve feet long and six feet wide, the rink was placed immediately behind a sidewalk window, and decorated on three sides with evergreen branches and artificial snow to give it an outdoor effect. A figure skater was then hired to perform on the tiny rink, as shown in the picture.

In the 1940s, the Metropolitan Police Was Looking for Good Looking Female Officers, and They Mustn’t Marry!

Here’s an old advert for the Metropolitan Police recruitment aimed at women with misogynistic overtones that really won’t fly in this day and age.

In the 1940s, London’s Metropolitan Police force was looking for fairly good looking female officers, and they must be hefty enough to withstand a “rough and tumble.”

These women must never marry or their career with end! They will answer to Sir Philip Game, the Met’s Chief Commissioner from 1935 until 1945. His vital statistics are not revealed.

40 Ogden’s ‘Guinea Gold’ Cigarette Cards Featuring Beautiful Actresses From the Late 19th Century

Cigarette cards were originally blank card inserts that were used to stiffen soft and flimsy cigarette packets and protect its contents. Stiffeners, as they were called came about in the 1870s. It wasn’t long until someone decided that these stiffeners could serve another purpose: advertisement material. And so, these cards would come with an advertisement for a company, product, or service and would often include printed pictures.

Eventually, these cards began to come with pictures of a particular theme, compelling customers to buy more of the product to complete the set of a certain theme. It became a clever way to boost sales and customer loyalty.

In 1878, Edward Bok, having picked up a discarded cigarette card with the picture of an actress, suggested to the printing company that a short biography of the featured actress would make the card even more interesting. This suggested format became a standard that all cigarette cards followed.

As cigarette cards gained a fanatical following, more than 300 cigarette manufacturers had to compete with each other, not only to ensure they achieve high product sales but also to gain and establish customer loyalty. Thousands of different sets on different themes were issued to keep people interested. It was not uncommon to see even non-smokers purchasing a pack to complete a set. Children could be seen standing outside stores asking the seemingly kind mister for their “fag card.”

Towards the end of the 19th century, card sets gained popularity. These cards would contain pictures of famous actresses of the time. By the early 1900s, card issuers began to release albums by which customers can store and display their card collection. Ogden’s first issued some hardback albums that allowed one to slip in their cards. Of course, a variety of albums were also made available, and a customer can choose the type of album they would want for their collection.

 

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1900 Ogden’s Guinea Gold Cigarette Ad Targeting Women

In the early 20th century this particular brand of cigarettes, Ogden’s Guinea Gold, primarily targeted men. In fact, a campaign featuring highly ranked colonels, majors and even Lords is chief among the brand’s early advertising efforts. This advertisement, however, targets the New Woman of the Victorian era, who seek the independence and freedom afforded only to men at the time.

The woman depicted in this image sits proudly and confidently on a bicycle, a lit cigarette in her mouth and both hands on her hips. Though she wears a modest, heavy, dark velvet dress with puffed sleeves, her outfit is anything but prim and proper. Instead, she wears either a divided skirt fashioned originally for horseback riding and then for bicycle riding or perhaps rationals, the baggy pants worn by liberated women of the time. She represents the New Woman who is, quite literally, going places on her own.

Bicycles were thought to metaphorically represent such freedom, as can be gathered from the contemporary novel novel Paris, by Émile Zola (1898). In this novel, the character Pierre asks, “So women are to be emancipated by cycling?” and Marie responds, “Well why not? It may seem a droll idea; but see what progress has been made already!” The act of straddling a bicycle was itself sometimes attributed to the rupturing of the hymen, and was thought by some to be indecent for proper women. The woman in this ad displays an air of rebellion and imprudence which would appeal to the type of woman who might smoke a cigarette in the early 1900s, when smoking was a habit reserved principally for men.

(via Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising)

14 Vintage Food Ads for St. Patrick’s Day From the Mid-20th Century

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday known for parades, shamrocks and all things Irish, from leprechauns to the color green. Inspired by the Irish holiday, here we’ve rounded up some old-school St. Paddy’s Day-inspired ads.

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