Honda 90

Playboy  Sept. 1964

     Man, that girl loves tubas.  That man loves that girl.  They both love that scooter.  That girl is riding sidesaddle, which seems precarious.  Why is she in a bathing suit?  Was she at the beach, and if so, why does she have the tuba?  Was the man at the beach in a suit?  These are some of the questions that pop into my head as I look at this ad.  Introducing the Honda 90.

Thanksgiving Gift: Fall Getaway

Playboy Nov. 1968

     Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  In trying to keep in the Thanksgiving spirit, I tried to find the most Autumn-oriented ad I had on hand to share.

Colt 45

Playboy Jan. 1969

This quick and to-the-point ad showcases everyone's favorite malt liquor.  Of course, by everyone I mean "every hobo."  I'm not sure I've seen Colt 45 in anything other than a 40oz., but apparently cans are still available.  So "sixy."  Get it?

Tareyton's Charcoal Filter

Playboy Oct. 1968

That's friggin' adorable.  A wee sweater for your cigarette.  

Ford Country Squire

National Geographic 1964

     Look at that woody!  Starting off our Monday with some good old-fashioned family transport, this Country Squire is a beautiful example of the wood-clad cars of America's history.  

Starfire

National Geographic 1964

It's been brought to my attention that some people are having problems reading the smaller text on some of these ads.  Blogger doesn't give me much control of the zooming capabilities of my pictures, so when an ad features small text, I'll try and include a typed-out version in my post.

Yardley of London

Playboy Jan. 1969

It seems a little late that the Christmas ads were published in January.  Yardley of London here is showcasing several of their perfume sets for gifting to one's lady-friends.  Perfect for all those swingy girls you know!

I.W. Harper

Playboy Jan. 1969

Here we have I.W. Harper bourbon, a brand which I've never heard of before.  Does anyone know if it's still available?

Firestone

Playboy Sept. 1964

The first time the Indy 500 was driven on one set of tires.  Continuously.  That's pretty impressive, but I'd like someone with a better knowledge of Indycar history to weigh in on this.  Particularly, because I'm pretty sure that most Indy races nowadays aren't run on one single set of tires.  I may be wrong, but I think this is true.

London Fog

Playboy Sept. 1964

It's always a good time when London Fog breaks down the history of waterproof animals.  Look at all the fowl puns in this ad!

Lowenbrau

Playboy Oct. 1968

Champagne is typically pretty expensive, soooo... Lowenbrau is a pretty expensive beer?  Is that really how they want to represent this?  Am I missing something here?

McGregor

Playboy Oct. 1968

Not much to say about this. These men, presumably Scots, like to wear plaid and leather.  Some like suede and wool as well.  They tend sheep and live on a manor all together with their berets.  And they look good doing it.  In a 1968 kind of way.

Pall Mall

Playboy Nov. 1967

What is Pall Mall doing here?  Are they really trying to sell me a cigarette that takes longer to smoke than I have time to smoke it in?  I've got a meeting in five minutes!  I've got places to be!  Why should I pay for more cigarette, then just throw away two minute's worth of tobacco?

AMC Javelin

Playboy Nov. 1967

Here we see the classic American muscle car.  It's got a timeless shape, and a reputation for performance to back up that mean facade.  It's one of the most sought-after cars amongst hot-rodders and gearheads, but is equally well known by non-car-folk.  It's been the car of choice for both movie stars and the characters they play.  It is the feature car in one of the greatest car chases in film history.  Your dad tells stories of his college buddies that drove this car.  Heads turn when one drives by.  In fact, it looks so good that when the fifth redesign came out, they tried to make it look like the old one. It's as much a part of American culture as baseball and apple pie.

The Ford Mustang.

Also shown is a competitor's vehicle that was only sold for 8 years, with a redesign in the middle.  The company that built it went on to go out of business.  Yeah.  Hot stuff.

To be fair, the Javelin is pretty collectible, and a lot of people do seek them out and restore them.  You do get a lot of people reminiscing about them.  There were Javelins in Hollywood flicks. They're not terrible looking cars.  I don't personally dislike the Javelin; it's rather attractive.  But one of those cars is still for sale, in one form or another.  And it's not AMC's offering.

Grant's 8

Playboy, Jan. 1969

The first advertisement to kick off this blog!  We start with a libation: Grant's 8 scotch.  I found this ad to be interesting because it employs a strategy that you don't often see in advertising today: telling you not to buy it.  This is a pretty common strategy in the 60's-70's, based on the ads I've seen.  Keep following this blog, and you'll probably see some more examples of it too.