Well, at home anyway. Since I worked in the tv industry, I was unfortunately inundated with way too much of the stuff. Like a few of these wonderful vintage eighties musical and dancing ads. If you can get through them all, you’ve got a stronger stomach than I do.
The MTV decade got off to wonderful start indeed with this 1982 Mustang GT ad. Worth it, despite the terrible quality; Betamax?
Here’s another musical gem featuring the remarkably full range of AMC/Renault vehicles in 1985, including the Fuego.
Sorry, but I’ve reached my limit.
And then there’s the Toyota Supra spot that mimicked the music video for a-ha’s “Take on Me”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVR241S5usU
At the time, the transitions between live action and animation were surreal; today it likely elicits a yawn (and possibly some would say the car gets the same reaction)…
That’s funny, because I can’t remember a single commercial on MTV, let alone a car ad – probably from laughing so hard between some of the videos (remember when they played them?) when I actually watched MTV from about 1984 to around 1990, then switched to VH1 then switched it off completely. Back to big band and jazz standards for me! Rock and roll oldies? Nah – done with ’em, too.
BTW, the only car-related thing I ever saw on MTV was the CARS’ “You Might Think”. One of the funniest videos, ever.
Holy Cow! That one for Mustang instantly made me think of the new Fiesta spots. It has the same cheesy feel and possibly the same set.
To be fair, the 82 Mustang was a big deal for Ford.
One of fords better ads from the 80s here.
http://youtu.be/ydFqVVgHP2c
Mustangs are the automotive equivalent of the Disney corporation.
I had to look up and see when the first MTV music awards were: 1984. That was probably the last time Plymouth tried to be even slightly relevant to young adults. I can remember seeing an ad from the late 50’s (where Plymouth sponsored the whole show), with many young women adorning the current model Plymouth. 25 years later they tried the same thing…
The Mustang ad was typical of the times, I think. Don’t you remember just breaking out in song and dance anytime someone drove a new car down the street?And where did that music come from? Who are these people in my neighborhood, and why aren’t they trying out for the local ballet?
I’m kidding of course, but for some motorheads, that probably was a reaction that wasn’t too far below the surface.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUy2DJRLPcw&feature=related
I’ve had this song in my head for more than two decades, but my grandmother still bought the Escort.
The Mustang commercial reminds me of a music-dance sequence from the movie Grease, updated with early 1980s fashions and hair styles. This is less MTV and more old-time Hollywood. Interestingly, the narrator is none other than Casey Kasem.
The Plymouth commercial shows the strong impact of MTV just three years later. The entire commercial could be a music video, and the woman singing has a Cyndi Lauper voice and the song sounds like something that Lauper would have sung.
The AMC/Renault montage is really bad. The cars are shown driving around a deserted western town…but why? One can understand placing Jeeps there, but how does this location relate to the capabilities and features of the Renault Alliance and Encore?
And is it really smart to show the vehicles on an obstacle course – twice – just when the lyrics say, “I’m about to lose control”?
Now I rememnber why I couldnt be bothered carting a TV around with me during most of the 80s the content wasnt worth the battery power.
I can see why you stopped at three. After watching the Mustang spot, I found my limit is one.
The eighties was like hell to me. You have brought great pain into my life again, argh….
Also, should the lyrics in your (Renualt) automotive advertising song ever mention losing control, really?
Not all 1980s TV advertising is that nauseating.
I loved Honda’s ads in the ’80s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMVangTTg3Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2St5vJUXME
I also enjoy these ones from Volvo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29cNUBzHBT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY7Uo5sA5OQ
Not long after that Renault/AMC commercial, came this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SubAbui5T5k
I had a 1985 Plymouth Turismo, very similar to the car in the commercial, although mine was just a “regular” Turismo, without the Duster package. It was even the same color as the car in the ad. Unlike the car in the ad, mine was an automatic, and it lacked a spoiler at the base of the trunk (it was unusual to see these cars without the spoiler; the one I owned had clearly been originally ordered as a stripped-down model with little in the way of optional equipment). I bought it used in 1989 and owned it until 1995.
The commercial leaves me with the impression that it was made specifically to be shown on MTV, possibly even to be aired during a specific program that Plymouth sponsored (i.e., the Video Awards referenced at the very beginning of the clip). At a minute and a half, it has to have been much longer than the typical TV ad of that era. That might explain why I don’t remember it; the cable system in the town I grew up in did not get MTV until 1992.
Nauseated in the Naughts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7iaM82P8bE
A 2000 Jetta spot of VW’s target audience gawking through the windshield at the people of New Orleans. (Mute it, the audio is messed up.)