You begin to interest me…vaguely
This 2013 commercial introduced the Chevy Spark to the U.S. market by hyping its global (OK, mostly pushing European vibes here) credentials and pastel colors.
Built in South Korea, over the years, versions of the Spark were marketed as the Chevy Beat, Holden Spark, Opel Karl, Vauxhall Viva, and Vinfast Fadil. The Spark was discontinued by Chevrolet in 2022.
Southern Comfort, the whiskey+fruit n’ spices liqueur (I guess?), produced these pamphlets that you could find in your favorite magazine from the 1950s on. This one is probably from the early 1960s and everyone looks like they’re having a grand time.
You may not be a SoCo fan, but it’s more tasteful than most of these toasts.
Someone else who helped sell Southern Comfort in the late Sixties? Janis Joplin, who drank a lot of it. Joplin died of a heroin overdose (possibly compounded by alcohol) in 1970.
Source: The Hagley Museum
Before it was a compact pickup truck, the Ford Maverick was an import-fighting’ vinyl-clad compact car. Introduced in the late 60s, original colors included Anti Establish Mint, Hulla Blue, and Thanks Vermillion.
The American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the brightest museum I’ve ever been in.
Whisky is not the vice John DeLorean is usually associated with. Cutty Sark ad from 1981, the first year the DeLorean sports car was sold. In 1982, John DeLorean was arrested for (and later acquitted of) drug trafficking. The DeLorean Motor Company declared bankruptcy the same year. Cutty Sark Scotch whisky was created in 1923 and is still in business.
Following Jimmy Carter’s victory in the 1976 presidential election, Time magazine looked towards what a Carter presidency would be, and advertisers began looking towards the Christmas season.
All images from Time Magazine, November 22, 1976
“Take the wife along with you to choose the color.”
The perfect host knows the perfect glass for each drink, but in case you forgot, Libbey provides a visual reminder in this 1962 ad (glasses start at 15¢!). See more Libbey barware here.
Remember that time in the 1990s when Volkswagen gave you a Trek mountain bike if you bought a car? Here’s one of the original brochures for the 1996 Jetta, as seen on A2resource.com.
Honda is releasing the newest version of one of the most iconic and best-selling motorcycles in the world, the Super Cub C125, in the United States.
Available only in a red, white and blue colorway, the Super Cub has a four-speed semi-automatic transmission, 125cc engine, and more style than most bikes twice its size.
The Super Cub, in various formats, has been around since 1958, but hasn’t been sold in the U.S. since the 1980s (when it was called the Honda Passport). The Super Cub also was the inspiration for one of the most significant advertising campaigns, introduced in 1963:
The Super Cub, and its variants, have been sold continuously in other parts of the world. The U.S. version will be released in 2019 and has a list price of only $3,599.
