Open an Australian car magazine from the early Seventies and it isn’t the
style of the new car tests, the photography, the magazine production or even the
hair styles which are most fascinating. It’s the ads. Advertising really does
portray the beliefs, norms, mores, and – more than anything else – the
feel of society at the time, and car magazine ads are no different. So
join us as we head back to 1971, a time of great change in Australian
motoring.
First up, let’s take a look at some superb Holden ads. The new and
extraordinarily radical (for an Australian car, anyway) HQ Holden was waiting in
the wings but as is the way of all car manufacturers, Holden was still flogging
off the soon-to-be-outdated model as hard as they could.
But what an ad!
From the perspective of the photographer to the contour-hugging headline,
this is a classic in advertising design. ‘Command Performer’ says the ad simply
and directly. The small print then says little in short sentences:
"Monaro GTS ‘350’ commands respect. Outside it’s clean, lean and mean. Monaro
styling, exciting new colours, black paint-outs and sidewinder stripes.
Underneath, it’s a machine made for the open road. A choice of two 350 cu. in.
V8’s. 300hp with manual 4-on-the-floor...
[Love that "4-on-the-floor"!]
...or 275hp
with T-bar ‘Powerglide’ automatic."
And so it went on, concluding with: "See your Holden Dealer. And command
attention."
Aaahhhh, fantastic stuff.
And the Torana GTR – again the old shape model – wasn’t far behind in either
graphic design or copywriter prose. How’s this for an opener: "Rub your eyes,
world." Geez, no-one could complain of a lack of confidence... The small print
followed its big brother Monaro almost exactly in style, if not detail.
"Torana GTR. Dreamcar. Sleek. Smooth. Safe.
[Safe?!]
Stirred by a wide-awake
125-horsepower Holden six. A big car engine nestling in a small, tight package.
Bags of stopping power. Crisp handling. Torana GTR."
Well, not quite poetry - but close.
"And for the competition-minded there’s the XU-1 performance and handling
package."
"Your dream car. Wake to it at your Holden dealer now," said the line at the
bottom of the ad.
Ahhh, gotta go drive one.....
Colour ads in those days were big budget and rare – typically a magazine of
the time might have had only eight or so colour pages. That’s one reason the ad
– and a rare one at that – for the kitcar Bolwell Nagari was in just B&W. A
car with the performance to make both the Torana GTR and Monaro 350 look silly,
the Bolwell ran V8 power and a fibreglass body. And you could put it together
yourself.
These days the tag line looks anachronistically sexist, but the theme is
clear: "The self-made car for the self-made man... Bolwell Nagari: Kit form from
$2,795"
In fact, apart from listing the dealers in each state and including a
clip-and-send coupon for more information, that’s all the ad said. The car
itself had been tested extensively in the enthusiasts’ media – the makers
obviously felt that no further explanation was needed. And that price of $2,795?
While that was a "from" price – as in, you were getting only the kit, not the
built car for those dollars – the Bolwell was still potentially very good value.
The Datsun 240Z, for example, ran to $4,666 and the aforementioned GTR Torana,
$2,999. The Monaro in 350 form? It started at $4,630.
And where was Ford? Well, the company was pushing the Escort hard. In one ad
they ran four artists’ drawings of the Escort in competition – and then the
headline: "Escort has become quite popular with Sunday drivers."
Underneath, the text read in part: "Sunday drivers, like the boys above, are
big on Escort quite simply because it’s big on performance; a true drivers’ car,
both on the road and track. After all, a car has to have what it takes, to put
over 230 world-wide race and rally wins under its bonnet."
The ad then went on to spell out the joys of the relatively rare twin cam
1.6, with its Lotus-designed head and 115 bhp at 6000 rpm. Interestedly, peak
torque was quite high, with 116 ft/lb at 4500 rpm.
The joys of the ad are dashed somewhat when you reach the end – the generic
contemporary Ford slogan grates horribly: "Going Ford is the going thing!"
But the other Escort ad is much more focused. Posed in front of just the nose
of a full-house rally Escort, the ad headline reads: "Ford Escort Twin-Cam: If
you really mean business!"
"From its Lotus-designed hemi engine to its direct rack-and-pinion steering,
it is designed to go quick and hang tight."
The philosophical differences between the European-inspired Escort and the
Australian (read: American) Torana are clear to see – six cylinder cubes versus
four cylinder sophistication.
It’s easy to forget when looking at cars of this era that most sold in
Australia didn’t have a whole host of basics... like hazard flashers, for example.
But this ad shows clearly that there was a market for retrofitting hazard
flashers – and they were available for 6, 12 and 24-volt vehicles.
"don’t let minor breakdowns become serious accidents" says the all lower-case
headline. The "Hazard Warning Flasher System" needs an explanation, presumably
because many readers would have been unfamiliar with the concept: "Protect
yourself and other motorists at times of danger by flashing all the flasher
lamps of your vehicle (and trailer) simultaneously."
And once you were convinced of the concept, "Cable and terminals are fitted
for easy installation. Wiring instructions included."
These were the days of the struggling British Leyland, and that company was
advertising for all it was worth. Which history was to show, wasn’t much...
Trying to fight in the dominant six-cylinder market, the company came up with
a brilliant concept. So brilliant that it was near on 30 years ahead of its
time. Why not put a six cylinder transverse engine into a front-wheel drive,
make the most of the resulting available space, and sell it as a new way of
meeting traditional Australian family needs? British Leyland thought that the
Kimberley and Tasman X6 models were the answer. But buyers stayed away in
droves...
Another company really struggling within the market (although far more so now
than back then) was/is Renault. You know that a car manufacturer (or their
advertising agency, at least) is trying desperately not to draw a long bow when
they cite a connection with a car that looks nothing like that being sold in the
local market, and one that won a race of very little relevance to that same
market. Such was the case with the Renault ad trumpeting the success of the
Renault Alpine in the Monte Carlo rally. Yep the car may have come "first,
second and equal third with a Porsche 914." (A what? The least successful of all
Porsche models?) But it’s when the ad copywriter starts to draw the link with
locally available Renaults that the ad falls into a heap. Big time.
Try: "Champagne all round. A toast to the unbeatable cars. Renault Alpines
powered by a modified Renault 16TS engine developing 160 h.p."
Ahh, I get it. The Renault 16TS was available in the showroom – pity it
boasted only 87hp...
One of the very, very few ads you’ll find in early Seventies car magazines
aimed specifically at women is shown here. A bloke – he’s clad in probably the
height of contemporary fashion but now he looks like some kind of sleazy loser –
is leaning over a woman driving a convertible. They’re stopped – presumably at a
set of traffic lights – and he’s riding a scooter. It gets better: he’s saying
the immortal pick-up line: "Hi! Where’s that great music coming from?"
In real life she probably would’ve leant over and elbowed him in the er... but
instead in the ad she’s saying: "My Pioneer car stereo – where else?"
Golly gosh, you say. Good sound in a car? Yep, that’s just the
case, because "Here’s a girl who likes good music – and knows how to get it.
Pioneer’s TP-A86, illustrated, gives her high fidelity stereo sound in two ways
– from pop in tape cartridges – or AM programmes."
Yes you can listen to 8-track tapes (if you don’t know what they are, do a
web search!) or great ol’ AM radio. Which, since FM radio didn’t exist at the
time in Australia, was the only radio choice anyway. But it didn’t matter which
source because "full, rich sound comes through top quality speakers like the
P10Ls, illustrated, which fit flush in each door."
Even more fascinating was the address on the coupon that you were supposed to
send in for more information: it was in Japan! Even the associated list of South
East Asian authorised agents included only one in Australia. And yes, it’s just
the same Pioneer that you can now buy everywhere.
And finally we’ll leave you with an ad for the archetypical Australian early
Seventies road burner, the Chrysler-manufactured Valiant Charger – surely along
with the current Monaro, the best looking of the local two-doors. Click on the
pic to enlarge the ad and read it for yourselves. And don’t forget to look at
each of the people shown admiring the car – Chrysler sure as hell was trying to
cover all bases!
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