Dodge Ads – October & November 1970

A 1972 ad

The Dodge brand of automobile really had some distinctive advertising back in the 1960s and 70s that set it apart from its competitors. The theme of the cowboy-hatted Dodge Boys, the “Good Guys in White Hats” that were ready to beat the competition to the draw, was an appealing idea that really enhanced the Dodge image, making it memorable and fun.

The ad below from the Lorain Journal of October 5, 1970 – for the Si Gary Dodge and Myers Motors dealerships – is part of that campaign. 

Note how the Dodge Boys cartoon logo is perfectly designed to appear on a variety of promotional items – and it sure did. Here’s a small sampling of vintage items from Ebay, including a button, a cup, golf tees and even a hot pad.

The early-1960s version of the logo was sans cowboy hats.

The Dodge Boys concept also worked well in a series of animated commercials.

Two days after the above Journal ran, this Si Gary ad for the Dodge Demon appeared in the paper on October 7, 1970. The ad (most likely designed by the Journal art team) featured the cute Demon logo.

And here’s a Si Gary Dodge ad from the November 2, 1970 Journal promoting 50% off on factory-installed air conditioning. We bought our first car with air conditioning about that time (although it was an Olds).

And finally, here’s another Demon ad. This one ran in the Journal on November 9, 1970 and features an all-demons version of the Dodge Boys logo!

Although the Dodge brand has bounced around a bit between owners through the years, it’s still a great looking line of cars (that belies the abuse the brand took as the car that Al Bundy drove on Married With Children).