I'm on the road and will be for the next month, but today should be the only day that content suffers. I don't have a good excuse... I just simply haven't settled in quite yet and, as a result, I'm taking the easy way out - posting an old commercial ... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
I like the "Velvet smooth start" and " handsome compact instrument panel". These were pretty cool videos.
I love the wording and descriptions in these old ads ..... "See your Lincoln dealer soon and accept his cordial invitation to inspect these magnificent new cars..." I don't think I've ever heard Coupe pronounced "Coupay" until that Lincoln commercial. It's humorous by 2013 standards that foam rubber seat cushions were being highlighted as a selling feature. In that Mercury ad, it reminded me of same script used to sell cigarettes, if you just replace a few key words like "car" and "Mercury" with "cigarette" and "Chesterfield Regulars"....
"There is something intrinsically creepy about early postwar commercials and Im not all together sure what it is,..." To me it's the music that is so strange. I mean they show you a 49 Merc, one of the coolest cars ever made and than there's this cheesy music from some kind of gooey romantic film. It's not happy or optimistic, it's not powerful and strong, it's not sporty or youthful. It sounds somewhat sad and to my (modern) ears it simply does not fit.
"There is something intrinsically creepy about early postwar commercials and Im not all together sure what it is,.... Maybe 'cause all the folks you see in the commercials are now gone?
The creepy comes from many angles: The soundtrack of off kilter horns and strings. "More and more luggage space..." for those women in the trunk. "Soft foam rubber seat cushions are your invitation.." to lesbian curiosity thwarted by last minute fearfulness.
Agree, the music has a lot to do with it, and yes, it is a bit creepy. Also the B&W footage, '49 cars, nice tudor house in the background . . . could be a Hitch**** film. Love this **** too, Boss. Safe travels.
Very cool ad footage! I love seeing this kind of stuff. First, it's a historical do***entation of American post-war industry. Advertising in film really took off in this period. The art of sales had to adapt to post-war technology and prosperity both. What better way to convince the American buying public that they "needed" something? Advertising at a movie theater, or on television, was in its infancy then. What better way to grab someone's attention than a family enjoying the wonderful style and grace of one of the first totally redesigned cars of the post-war era (of course, Studebaker and Hudson both beat Ford, Mercury, GM and Chrysler by a full model year!). You can tell that Mercury looked at the new '48 Stepdown Hudson and took a lot of styling cues from that, except for the factory "lowered" roofline of the Hudson...to me, you have to chop a Merc to look remotely as good as a stock Hudson, but I digress! Why do I expect '50s aliens to jump out from somewhere in these clips???
my friend and I purchased a flathead and 4speed automatic today...was from a 1949 Lincoln that had been t boned..the hydromatic was made by GM for Lincoln division.. wondering where he can find more info on motor...******...parts..etc...thanks.. happy Canada Day!
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