Yesterday we saw how back in November 1973, Manners hoped to lure kids (and their families) into its restaurants by sponsoring a coloring contest. Today's post shows how Ford Motor Company tried the same approach: appeal to kids in hopes of getting the parents through the door – in this case, the door to the auto showroom.
Above is an ad for Buckeye Motors on Kansas Avenue that ran in the Journal back on November 1, 1973. The ad highlights the new 1974 Ford LTD, with an invitation to the public to "come in and see it for yourself."
The bait for kids was the opportunity to "take home our soft cuddly type."
Type of what? What is that thing?
Although it looks like a McDonaldsland reject, or something that you fished out of your bathroom drain with a coat hanger, the ad copy provides some hints. "You can drive me around," it notes. "No matter what you want me to do, I can handle it. (heh, heh)."
It took me a little while to get it. It's a puppet. A hand puppet. And it can handle it. That's a joke, son. And it's supposed to be a car. (Perhaps a car that would be right at home as part of the Carhenge roadside attraction).
Anyway, before I figured out that it was a puppet, I had scoured the internet looking for one of these things, using search terms such as "Ford plush doll" and the like with no success. Once I added the word 'puppet' to the mix, I discovered that there are at least three of them on Planet Earth that managed to escape the trash can in the intervening years since the ad.
I also discovered that it's blue and has FORD emblazoned on its, er, body. Here's an ample sample.
I still think it looks like something that would follow Ronald McDonald around, mute and menacing.
This series of photos gives you a better look at its car-like features. The big white stripe or bar is the bumper, and the hood opens like a mouth.
6 comments:
Subjecting a wee bairn to something like that would probably be called "child abuse" today; SHEESH!
That Ford behemoth (and other brands of that era like it) were at least 22 feet long. Kids and their puppets could get lost in a car that big. Gives a whole new meaning to "Lost In Space."
I owned that exact car, black over black.
Used, of course, and twelve-years-old, bought used for almost nothing in WV where they don't (or didn't) use road salt. It was a beast and "would pass everything but a gas station." We used to cruise between Morgantown WV and Lorain County at night, following tractor-trailers on the Turnpike at 85, 90 mph, and the car wasn't even working hard, at all. A nice ride; quiet, smooth, but don't take no sharp corners at speed cause the back end would slide out on you if you weren't careful.
After moving north, it quickly turned from elegance to a rust-bucket beater. Kind of a shame.
Oh, and that's one creepy car puppet, too.
Thanks for your investigation, Dan. The ad makes the puppet look like a furry trash receptacle with eyes. It wasn't until I saw the side view that I figured it out.
With every car maker going electric today,cars of this size could make a comeback.Just think about it.Ford could come back with an electric version of this "73 Ford LTD.This LTD isn't any less aerodynamic than their electric F150.And there are some people who still don't like pickup trucks.The possibilities are endless for Detroit.
Anonymous…
My ‘73 had enough battery room for 600 miles of range!
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