Last week, I put up an ad for Triumph's MkII Spitfire featuring 60s female surfing champion Joyce Hoffman. It was a sunny SoCal day, and I was lamenting being inside at work. I also happened to question the demise of advertising like this as it seemed to me to exemplify the fun of Southern California car culture. today, I think I may have found a few answers... One of them is from the land of the rising sun.
On the surface it looks a lot like the Spitfire ad. It has a pretty girl, some water, she looks like she likes the car... But look closer. That isn't a day at the beach, it's a dim, late afternoon in some parking lot in front of a harbor launch ramp! Also, the pretty girl isn't there for any specific reason. Joyce Hoffman was a surfing champion, and a pioneer in women's sports, along with being cute. Look at this woman, she screams central casting. What's going on here? Somehow this ad has taken the elements of the Triumph piece, but missed out on all the sense of fun. Also, what's with all the empty slips? Where are the boats, and why is there a run down outboard in the shot? It's all a little sloppy. This can't be blamed squarely on the Japanese, because this is obviously the work of a U.S. advertising company.
Part of the problem is that Datsun (or their copywriters) are taking the whole thing a little too seriously. To alert us to this, they've replaced the Spitfire's racing stripe with some jargon about Datsun's racing history. This isn't a bad thing per-say, but it belong's in a different ad, selling a different fantasy. The girl in the photo knows little of the Fairlady's record in competition, and cares less. It's hard to blame Datsun for wanting to sell their car on its merits; the Fairlady was a good product, and held together much better than the Spitfire or an MGB. But like the ad in which it starred the Datsun had missed out on some of the charm of the European competitors it was busy overtaking. Something had been gained, and something lost.
Shoes, Bags & a Jacket
4 days ago
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