Pairing the ’67 Electra 225 with Jayne Mansfield wasn’t such a long shot after all. I went to oldcarbrochures to check on the ’67 Electra’s length (223.9″), and as soon as I saw the cover, it all came rushing back to me: “Six famous models look at six famous cars”. And who did they pick to pair with the Electra? Well, Jayne was not only already dead, but her star had long dimmed. It’s Suzy Parker, the most famous model of the fifties who got her first movie role in 1957. And who was the other woman in that movie (Kiss Them For Me)?
Jayne Mansfield, no less.
Here they are together, discussing the virtues of the Buick Electra 225 with Cary Grant. She ended her career after a car accident too, but it’s outcome was much better than Jayne’s. She was able to write up her insightful feelings for the Electra in this brochure (in case you couldn’t make it out above):
She used to know someone named Buick? Really? This sounds more like the figment of some ad copywriter’s fertile imagination.
and “when you’re in a car, you’re really wearing it” – kind of creepy ad copy with the Jayne Mansfield thing and all.
It’s fascinating to contrast the accompanying brochure for the 1967 Buicks that features various male athletes extolling the virtues of a particular model.
The men are all posed standing beside the car, with a serious expression, while the women are draped over the car with a come-hither look, in various seductive poses. The athlete’s accomplishments are explained, while the women are simply named. Aside from Jean Shrimpton and Suzy Parker, I have no idea of who they were, and why they were featured in a Buick brochure (anyone know?).
The men are either dressed in athletic uniforms, suits or nice casual wear. The women wear high-fashion items.
The copy for the brochure featuring the men is all about facts, figures and specifications, while the copy for the women’s brochure emphasizes style and treats the car as another fashion accessory.
Welcome to the pre-feminist era of advertising…
Perhaps, but the models are credited by name and I don’t recall that ever happening before in the world of the automobile brochure. And they were the top names of the day- Wilhelmina, Suzy Parker, Jean Shrimpton- these women were the first supermodels.
Looked at in hindsight, this is a foreshadowing of the great brougham epoch. Lincoln played the car as fashion accessory angle to the hilt with the designer editions they came out with in the 70s (Bill Blass, Cartier, Pucci, Givenchy, etc).
My aunt had one of these, same year and color combo. Great car to ride in.
Suzy was a beautiful woman, seriously.