Ever since I saw a Chevrolet ad in the mid 1960s of a Chevy Impala driving slowly on the waterways of Venice I thought automobile advertising was the most original in the world. These Cadillac ads don't sell a car, they sell an image.
Posted: 10.26.2015
Cadillac: Standard of world advertising from 1930s-1970s
By: Robert Tate, Automotive Historian/Researcher
Images courtesy of Robert Tate's collection
The Cadillac name plate belongs to a
distinguished and honorable luxury car brand that many automotive
historians and consumers have enjoyed for a very long time.
Cadillac enthusiasts have always
highlighted a proud history of great and popular automobile designs.
Over many years, Cadillac has compiled a unique and interesting history
of engineering and styling innovations that have created a loyal
consumer base.
During the early days when the
Cadillac Motor Car company was getting started in Detroit in 1903, this
automotive journey would start Cadillac's great success and heritage for
the history books and for the future.
This story is about the legendary
advertisements that Cadillac had introduced from the 1930s to 1970s and
later how the Cadillac automobile was promoted for the consumer market.
During the fall, magazines are a
showcase for new and exciting vehicles. They show images and
descriptions of your new vehicle into nearly every American household to
be looked and studied, reviewed and talked about and compared.
Shortly after the Cadillac Motor Car
Co. was founded, the decade following (1920 to 1930) witnessed some of
the the greatest developments in Cadillac’s Motor Car history with its
great eye catching automotive designs.
During World War II, Cadillac did not
focus on needed advertising but did feature great artistic work from the
great Thomas Cleland, who illustrated some of the most beautiful
automotive prints in the world. It was also during this time period,
that the 1927 Cadillac La Salle became the first automobile designed
completely by the late Harley Earl.
Cadillac advertising in the early half
of the 1930s continued in the pattern of simplicity and elegance. The
1938 Cadillac model was introduced as a practical motor car that
featured advanced styling.
After the war had ended, Cadillac
continued to focus their advertising campaign on the consumers
highlighting style and elegance. In 1948, Cadillac introduced the first
fin, which the advertising community highlighted within their great
advertising campaigns, “Cadillac presents the new standard of the
world.”
Another important factor in
advertising after the war was television. This would change the playing
field for marketing and selling automobiles.
1950s bring changes to Cadillac marketing, relationship with Boulevard Photographic
The 1950s brought more glamour,
fashion and women buyers into purchasing new Cadillac vehicles. In 1956,
Cadillac offered new colors that attracted more women buyers to the
dealerships such as Princess Green, Duchess Green and Mountain Laurel,
which was a very soft pink color along with Taupe. These were all
popular colors manufactured for Cadillac in 1956.
The years, 1953 to 1962, Cadillac
advertised more female designers and fashion trends than any other car
manufacturer in the United States. The year 1959, was also the year that
the Cadillac tailfin rose to new heights in design.
The advertising featured many
beautiful women along with the slogan “Take a lovely lady, place her at
the wheel of a new Cadillac car and you have a delightful picture
indeed.”
The 1960s to 1970s was a decade of
change. Cadillac still held on to its great symbol of design, the 1963
and 1964 models were great looking automobiles and the advertising theme
was “Sometimes when a man steps away from his Cadillac, he'll steal a
glance back at the car in his life.”
One of the most recognized Cadillac
advertising images popular among historians and collectors would be the
print for the 1967 Fleetwood Eldorado (see image below). The headline
stated, “Only one car can make a Cadillac owner look twice.” The
advertising featured a man looking outside of his car window observing a
1967 Eldorado, and this became the most talked about and classic
Cadillac advertising among historians even today.
During the 1950s to 1970s, Cadillac
automobiles were photographed by one of the best advertising agencies in
the world in Boulevard Photographic.
In the mid-1950s, talented
photographers Jimmy Northmore and Mickey MeGuire launched Boulevard
Photographic to service Detroit's auto industry. They set about proving
the power of automotive photography that was used to bring consumers
into the showrooms to purchase new Cadillac automobiles. Boulevard
Photographic was considered the best in the automotive industry.
In conclusion, Cadillac has always had
a rich heritage along with many great milestones throughout its
history. Cadillac advertising will always be a great part of our
automotive history and heritage for generations to come.
A special
thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for
contributing the story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program.
Photographs are courtesy of Robert Tate's personal collection.
(Bibliography: Mc Call M.P Walter. “80 Years Of Cadillac La Salle,”
Crestline Publishing 1988; Hendry D. Maurice/Editors of Automobile
Quarterly “Cadillac standard of the world The Complete history,” 1979;
Williams, Jim. “Boulevard Photographic The art of automobile
advertising,” 1997 )
For
further information on photos please visit
http://www.detroitpubliclibrary.org/ or email
nahc@detroitpubliclibrary.org. Please do not republish the story and/or
photographs without permission of MotorCities National Heritage Area.
If you would like to contribute an article for the MotorCities
newsletter, email Communications Coordinator Austen Smith at
asmith@motorcities.org
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