Interesting Period Sales Tactic and Demographics of our Cars

[MarkV]

So here is an ad for my 62, they tried to appeal to doctors and lawyers with these ads!

 

I was thinking about other ads out there and how they appeal to a demographic. What demographics did your car appeal to?

[rocketraider]

Bankers too. Remember what Milburn Drysdale drove in Beverly Hillbillies? Besides nobody else could afford a car like Imperial! Or Lincoln, or Cadillac.

 

Imperial always struck me as made for old-money types who were a bit conservative in their tastes. Cadillac OTOH was clearly aimed at brash people who had made it, wanted you to know it, and had ostentatious taste. Except for late-50s, Lincoln bridged the gap between flashy and subdued.

 

Lessee... my Starfires were aimed at the 1960s nascent sporty personal luxury market (and took dead aim at Thunderbird). Same for the Toronado except it was also aimed at innovative types who wanted something distinctively different.

 

1970s Hurst/Olds advertising was aimed at "the Man in Motion".

[joe_padavano]

https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/a1823981/1955-dodge-la-femme-car-women-men/

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by joe_padavano (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, MarkV said:

So here is an ad for my 62, they tried to appeal to doctors and lawyers with these ads!

I have a 1961 Imperial, Wes, and I've seen that advertising

program for the 1962 models.

 

I appreciate sincere advertising, but occasionally it can be

absurd.  Forum members might appreciate this Lincoln ad

from 1976, promoting used Lincolns and showing a nice '74.

Think about it, and note the absurdities:

 

---It's pretentious.  But would the well-off owners in such

a grand house really buy a used car?  Why not show an

accountant or a carpenter enjoying a 2-year-old Lincoln?

---They're buying an "historic painting."  It looks like an 1800's

Impressionist painting, worth a huge amount.  But the dealer

doesn't crate or wrap that valuable painting, and the owners

just put it in the rear foot-well where it can jostle around!

 

 

[Guest]

Mercury's target aporoach was a little broader.

Well, ...to half the population anyway.

 

[60FlatTop]

2 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Imperial always struck me as made for old-money types who were a bit conservative in their tastes. Cadillac OTOH was clearly aimed at brash people who had made it, wanted you to know it, and had ostentatious taste. Except for late-50s, Lincoln bridged the gap between flashy and subdued.

Old money, new money kept Rolls-Royce going for a few decades (wars). Of course, in the end it was just an 80 year scheme to sell the whole operation to the Germans and get even.

 

The difference between old money and new money tends to be one or two wars.

[pfloro]

3 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Bankers too. Remember what Milburn Drysdale drove in Beverly Hillbillies? Besides nobody else could afford a car like Imperial! Or Lincoln, or Cadillac.

I had a friend who told me that Imperial owners did not pronounce the name as Im_per_ial but rather as Im_pearl.  It was spoken with a low, subdued, and reserved tone... Think of Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) and his voice saying Im_pearl...!

 

I needed a belly laugh...

 

Paul

Edited June 3, 2022 by pfloro (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

In many parts of the country the real rich people drove Buicks and Chryslers, never Cadillacs. This was true of the small town I grew up in and I have heard the same thing from others.

 

There were a few Cadillacs. They all seemed to belong to small business owners and shop keepers who seldom used them. One exception was the mother of the local Chev/Olds/Cadillac dealer who had a new Coupe de Ville every year.

[plymouthcranbrook]

So this post made me curious to see how my 1952 Plymouth was advertised.  
Seems  like most of the ads tend to describe safety features and comfort.  New braking design, smother running engine, ease of entry  and of course exit.  Just found one ad in a short search that praised the styling and design but that also talked about the modern engineering. Looks like Plymouth was pitching to value and safety conscious folks who liked stability and reliability not so much flash and dash.  Folks of modest means who wanted a good return on their money.  Kinda like me.

[Pfeil]

2 hours ago, pfloro said:

I had a friend who told me that Imperial owners did not pronounce the name as Im_per_ial but rather as Im_pearl.  It was spoken with a low, subdued, and reserved tone... Think of Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) and his voice saying Im_pearl...!

 

I needed a belly laugh...

 

Paul

OK Here you go

 

Jim Backus & Friends : Delicious - YouTube

[Pfeil]

You can see where Pontiac was aiming at in 69.

I bought a new one and still have it.

General Motors Vintage The Great Breakaway

 

[BadGoat]

My uncle owned a Pontiac dealership in Chicago in the 60's and I remember hearing they got a lot of flack from this ad.....  I have one in both my 68's and my wife has a key, and she can use it.

 

[rocketraider]

Somebody had to do something to help the SlimJim...

 

One of the early Dual/Gate ad folders showed an attractive lady in a mink stole, smiling at the Dual/Gate shifter. Different times.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, pfloro said:

Think of Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) and his voice saying Im_pearl...!

"Locust Valley Lockjaw"

[Rusty_OToole]

3 hours ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

So this post made me curious to see how my 1952 Plymouth was advertised.  
Seems  like most of the ads tend to describe safety features and comfort.  New braking design, smother running engine, ease of entry  and of course exit.  Just found one ad in a short search that praised the styling and design but that also talked about the modern engineering. Looks like Plymouth was pitching to value and safety conscious folks who liked stability and reliability not so much flash and dash.  Folks of modest means who wanted a good return on their money.  Kinda like me.

Since the depression car companies emphasized the practical virtues like long trouble free life, economy, comfort, etc with maybe a little pizzaz in the form of a yellow convertible in the occasional ad. In those days they could figure on the cheapest sedan in the lineup being the best seller. This changed in the early fifties when deluxe models and medium priced cars outsold the cheapies. This caused a lot of new thinking in building and marketing cars.

[Rusty_OToole]

Then there were the Jordan ads in the twenties. One called The Port of Missing Men that showed a Jordan parked in front of a house with a red light over the door. Another titled Pay Off the Grinning Caddy showing a young couple cutting their golf game short to go for a ride in their Jordan. Wonder what demographic Ned Jordan had in mind.

Edited June 4, 2022 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[EmTee]

https://vimeo.com/312218800

 

[Scott Bonesteel]

Some of my favorite auto advertisements have always been the Baker Electric ads of the 1911-1912 time frame.  Beautiful illustrations and often showing women drivers or specifically aimed at women drivers due to their 'ease of handling' and 'silent shaft drive'

[Guest]

 

Tesla Model 3 Standard Range:  "The battery in the Tesla car will last at least 267 miles on a single charge."

 

A 22.5 mile increase in just 111 short years.  

Tesla's got nothing on Baker.  

 

 

[alsancle]

17 minutes ago, GregLaR said:

 

Tesla Model 3 Standard Range:  "The battery in the Tesla car will last at least 267 miles on a single charge."

 

A 22.5 mile increase in just 111 short years.  

Tesla's got nothing on Baker.  

 

 

In fairness, the early record was set at 10 miles an hour, and the Tesla will do that at 60.

[SC38dls]

Only 60 mph ! Is that why Ed will never buy a Tesla? 
dave s 

[Scott Bonesteel]

4 hours ago, alsancle said:

In fairness, the early record was set at 10 miles an hour, and the Tesla will do that at 60.

Of course, looked at another way, that means that a Tesla owner gets about 4 hours of drive time per charge, whereas the Baker owner got 24 hours of driving time.  To paraphrase another ad campaign aimed at women, "You haven't come a long way baby."

[EmTee]