(first posted 12/13/2012) What a difference a year or two makes. It’s not easy explaining the sixties if one didn’t live through them, except to perhaps suggest that each year felt more like a decade, in terms of the rate of change. One can literally date ads from back them by the year. Like this one; it just reeks of 1966: Sexy, individualistic, embracing impulsiveness, op-art clothing. No, a year two before, one wouldn’t have seen this girl standing in a mountain creek eating a peach. Let’s turn the clock back to 1964:
Annual style changes for cars back then, is like all the new smart phone versions, apps, and other tech changes each few months nowadays.
And yeah, the mid-late 60’s was hugely different from ‘Mad Men’ 1960-63
Actually you can divide the 60’s into three main subgroups:
60-63 (up to Kennedy’s assassination): Still the 50’s, but with the hope of a brighter future. Lots of talk about the future, but we were still living the tail end of the present.
64-66: The changes are starting. Styles are beginning to change – the Beatles actually have hair touching their collars! Yet, there’s still something of a 50’s civility (unless your a busted Mick Jagger) underlying the tectonic shift.
67-70: And now the hippies take over, and society definitely wheels radically off to the left. Styles, lifestyle, etc. change. Anybody who looked ‘hip’ in 1964 is definitely looking real reactionary if they haven’t changed in time with what’s happening.
(You could do a political subgroup of the top starting with the spring of 68 going through to the end of the decade. At this point, not only has lifestyle gone off the previous scale, but politics have turned nasty to a point that I hope we don’t see again in my lifetime.)
And the 60’s lasted until about 1972.
The 1960s ended at several different points.
Culturally, the 1960s ended in the period from August 1969 to December 1969. That was when the Sharon Tate murders scared the daylights out of everyone (and the Los Angeles area in particular, which had been at the center of the free-and-easy 1960s lifestyle), and then Charles Manson and his followers were charged with them. Suddenly, all of those hippies with flowers in their hair also had a knife in one hand and a gun in the other.
Politically, the 1960s ended when Richard Nixon resigned from the presidency in August 1974.
For car companies, the 1960s ended in 1971, when GM lowered compression ratios in anticipation of tougher emissions standards, and the old muscle car market was literally falling off a cliff.
To be precise, the 71’s came out in fall 1970, a few months after the first Earth Day. Even though old Baby Boomers still complain about the lowered compression, in the long run, new cars are better off. And there has been good performace cars available since at least 1986. Who knew?
Things got steadily worse from 1971 until the mid-1980s. Stricter emissions standards, combined with the sudden demand for improved fuel economy in the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo, ensured that cars would be real dogs for several years.
The use of computers enabled car makers to meet strict emission standards and improve both performance and drivability. But we didn’t know it was possible at that time. Things looked pretty dreary for most of the 1970s. The 1986 Mustang GT signaled that the dark days were over.
Lowered compression was not even needed. Replacing the lead based anti-knocking agents with something more environmentally friendly (but more expensive) instead of banning high-octane fuel outright would’ve done the trick as well (today engines routinely use 95-98 octane unleaded fuel). But the oil companies were too cheap for that.
Ahem…The small matter of a nasty little war becoming a nasty big war had something to do with sixties politics.
As for when the sixties ended, one way or another it was the summer of ’69. In September our history class was asked what we thought the most important event of the summer was. One half said “the Moon landing, obviously!” The other half said “Woodstock, obviously!” Then we looked at each other like “what planet are you on?” Both cultures went downhill after that.
I think in more simple terms:
Pre plasti-Chrome and post.
As GM had record ROIC in ’65, after that, it all went to hell, and the penny pinching and dimmed individuality of character made the 63-65’s high water marks.
I like your answer. 🙂
Your point about “Mad Men” is well-taken; what’s starting to make the actual show interesting is that the Mad Men era is coming to a rapid close at this point in the story arc, and we know it–the characters just haven’t quite figured it out yet. (I think we were in late ’65 or early ’66 when the last season left off.)
Paul, how utterly correct you are.
I don’t know if even “cataclysmic” adequately describes the social upheaval that took place in that decade.
The two print ads above nail the contrast in women’s roles quite well. From demure dinner date in ’64 to sexy and trying her independence in ’66 by taking the ‘Vette to the mountains.
Women’s lib meets David E. Davis’ pen. And it was only the beginning…
“The Day She Flew the Coupe” is undoubtedly one of my favorites car ads of all time, and supposedly it was also the subject of a false advertising suit filed against GM by a law student.
Seems as though the illustrators and the copywriters didn’t coordinate the efforts on this one. Look closely and you’ll see that there is a standard hood on that ‘vette…and GM wouldn’t build a big-block car (referred to in the ad copy) unless the young law student accepted a hood with a bulge in it (to clear the larger engine).
My source states the claim was settled out of court.
Without going into a long, nostalgia-filled soliloquy about the 1960’s, which I have pretty much put ‘way behind me, all of the above is true. I will say this, however, the post-war years was the best time to be a kid and grow up – at least for me. After 1972 – the cars? Not as well, but there were and are highlights.
The husband who misplaced the keys is gonna be pissed when that 425 hp makes her swap ends on that mountain road! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubE5mj-RR10 go to .28 for the climax.
Search ‘corvette wrecks’ on youtube, no wonder insurance is so high on them!
If we had gone the other way, to 1968, the girl and the car would have been in a field of yellow weeds.
The 1960s is a fascinating decade. For me (10 years old in 1969) the 60s was different than for those a decade older (or for those a decade younger who experienced it retrospectively through the media). My parents were too old for flower power nonsense, and my friends and I were too young. We (at least in the midwest) inhabited a world that was still full of adult men who wore Bryl Creme (or flat tops) and wing tip shoes and women who still wore gloves to dress up. With no teenagers in the house, you still had a lot of radio stations still playing Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee. Elvis was considered young and hip because he had sideburns. I guess this was the world of that silent majority that Nixon kept talking about.
I didn’t see that many muscle cars, although next door, Kevin Bordner’s mother got a tan GTO with the 4 speed in 1966 and an avocado green one in 1968. Come to think of it, the college kid on the other side of our house had a navy blue 65 GTO 4 speed, and then a green Plymouth GTX. But mostly, it was a series of Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Ford and Chevy sedans and wagons. With an occasional Plymouth or Dodge for some variety.
“…adult men who wore Bryl Creme (or flat tops)…”
JP, you have to add Butch Wax, too! As for a flat top, guilty as charged – had one from the time I was five years old almost through my junior year of high school, 1967-68!
Although not in a wealthy community, I saw my share of muscle cars back then, just not in my neighborhood. Lots of 1957 Chevys, though – I wanted one real bad, too!
It’s amazing what a nine-year age difference can make.
I discovered rock ‘n roll in 1962 (Del Shannon’s “Runaway”), discovered Rockers and Mods in the pages of Time and Newsweek – an on BBC World Service broadcasts in ’64-65. Still have a passion for Rockers after all these decades. Tried at hippiedom with a father who’d march me down to the barber shop ever three weeks religiously, rapidly figured I didn’t have a clue. Figured I was more comfortable with the Brian Jones Stones and Yardbirds era than most of what was coming out of SF.
Entered college Sep 1968 – more importantly, entered college 200+ miles from the family. OK, let’s rock. Lots of acid. Discovered I still didn’t have a clue about being a hippie. Tear gassed in demonstrations in DC and Columbus, OH. Was supposed to go to Kent State That Weekend, the ride fell through. Thank god. Politics were burned out by ’72, my last act was to work for McGovern.
By which time I’d discovered Bowie, Mott, and Bolen. And then life finally took off. Seventies, man; and I sure don’t mean disco. Damn, the sex was good when all you had to worry about could be cured with penicillin. And you got laid by being androgynous and wearing more makeup than the girls you picked up.
50’s? You saved that for when Sha-Na-Na came through town.
Between 1958 (which is a good idea of when I actually started noticing what was going on around me – undertanding it later in retrospect) and 1978, I figured I lived on four or five different planets. All without leaving western PA.
“And the 60′s lasted until about 1972.”
Agree with thee in many aspects.
Many variances, however dependent upon geo-cultural-social-politial locations.
Way to many to go into here.
I do want to suggest peeking at “Generation Jones,” a view I agree with in many ways.
Home turf of San Fran Bay area sure differed from kin’s experiences in rural mid-west.
Nehru jackets?
Bell-bottoms?
School dress codes demanding females ONLY wear skirts/dresses? (changed in 1970)
Battles between “cowboys” and “long hairs” within the town.
SDS speakers on high school campus from nearby UC Berkeley.
Underground newspapers…
And, I reveled in the pop-art advertising of the MoPar Rapid Transit ads. Was it Peter Max who did so?
So MANY things one had to live through to truly understand but that is just a fact of life.
Growing up with Vietnam on the TV nightly had an immense impact upon this aging Old Coot who was present for the evacuation, Mayaguez Incident, etc.
After the draft ended in Jan 1972 MUCH changed or began to change but “1960s” aspects lingered on and I detected a few places where they could be seen/felt/smelled/experienced in a few enclaves (OB near San Diego being one and several places in Oregon MANY years later).
The end.
1972 had a few 60’s left overs ending, too
“Bewitched”, “My Three Sons”, and other ‘non-Norman Lear’ type shows ended runs. Johnny Carson moved to Burbank. Middle aged actors grew longer hair, such as Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, and Peter Lawford. Actresses wore longer hair from 60’s Beehives. Sonny and Cher show started, overtaking old ‘Rat Pack’ variety shows.
Color TV was nearly the norm in many houses, thus more vivid car advertising, instead of dry lectures.
The 1964 Vette ad looks like it’s from 1958! Aimed at adult society people. 1966, aimed at ‘mod’ 20-somethings, yet are actaully married. So, not all social norms broken yet.
if ever there was a decade it was the 60s ,i love that optemisum and innocence captured for me by very early beach boys records and the imigery of the record covers to films like one of my favourate of all time .its a mad mad mad mad world ..just to see your america of that time,[we in rainy london could only dream of california and america for us america realy was..oz..lol]wot an incredable place and wot an incredable decade to live there…wow…there must of been nowhere eles in the world like america then ..you start 60s america with ..the magnificent 7[1960] its a mad mad mad mad world[1961] and we end it with ,alices resturant[arlo guthrie 1969] rosmarys baby[1968] and the classic..harold and mauld[1970]…wow
There is quite a difference in the copy over 2 years time. Influenced by societal changes? Between 64 and 1970 things were moving pretty quickly.
By 1968 they were focusing more on the handling and power than fictional characters at the opera or a car thief (kidding!) standing in a stream. By 1973/74 they were aiming their ads straight at the kid in us.
1964 is repeatedly referred to as “the year we lost our innocence”.
That so many can agree that one particular year represents a turning point in our collective behavior says a lot.
I entered the Navy in late 1963 and exited in early 1967. The military, especially if you are on board a ship and stationed outside the US, as I was, can be a pretty insular place.
It was like entering a time warp starting in one country and exiting into another.
All things considered, I liked the country we evolved into post 1964 better than the one that preceded it.
@ Norm: Completely agree. I took a “time out” for the 60’s. Joined the Navy in 61 and stayed forever. My vette was a 75.
Can say, however, that the USA and it’s trials were probably best viewed outside the contiguous 48. In 1968 or 69 I was on patrol and thought the whole country was burning. I don’t think I envied anyone that had to go through that. I don’t think previous generations had to. At least I didn’t read about it unless you are talking about the 1860’s. Anyway, I cam back in 1970 and I am not sure anything was unchanged.
Not ads, but movies with cars in them, help define the divide between the “buttoned down” early and “free love” late ’60’s, The Graduate and Animal House. Alfa Romeo even named a car the Graduate.
My wife tells people about the late sixties by saying that every time they broke into a tv program with a bulletin she’d turn off the tv, knowing that it was going to be bad news. She worked at the reference desk in a public library and already knew more than she wanted to about current events. The change that affected her the most was that the library turned from a good place to work into one that was beset by CETA and Affirmative Action.
when you’ve been given advantages your whole life it can feel like you’re being discriminated against when the playing field is leveled.
In the ’60s, Eugene morphed from a sleepy lumber town to countercultural Mecca. And yes, there was violence. We lived next to the National Guard armory when it was bombed by anti-war radicals- the explosions literally knocked me out of my bed. If you want a taste of ’60s Eugene, their Saturday Market is a unique and interesting view into the past.
Re: The 64 ad. It appears Don Draper was able to lever his largess to finagle a Vette for weekend to impress some tootsie. In the end, he realized he was a dye-in-wool Coupe deVille man.
Could the fact that David E. Davis was no longer writing Corvete ad copy during this time period explain the apparent dichotomy?
I “found” car magazines about the time the 66 ad was in magazines. (Until then, Hot Rod and similar magazines were what I looked at/read.) And I have to say I rarely paid attention to the folks in these ads, and what they were doing. Yet, looking at these 2 different ads I can see the change in emphasis.
Funny, but even now I don’t see a Corvette as the kind of car a woman in an evening gown would ride in.
Other than the difference in location and attire, the one relatively subtle difference in the two ads is that 64 has very obvious white walls, whereas the 66 it appears that the tires are not (maybe raised white graphics) Another sign of the change in the times.
Or perhaps redlines, which were an option in ’67, and would not have showed up readily in the black-and-white photograph.
Moved from Portland Oregon to Southern California in November, 1967, 2 months from 13th birthday.
Went from Beehives and butterfly glasses on women to mini skirts up to the armpits. Portland was still in 1964. California was on acid overdrive. From Ozzy Nelson to Ozzy Osbourne.
Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa. Iron man comics to Iron Butterfly records.
Vietnam and burning bodies on TV. Burning bras and draft cards.
Today no draft, no real reporting of the war in the middle east. No reporters on the battle front line on the 6:00 news.
No coverage of the coffins coming back from war, little mention of the 22 suicides a day of past and present members of our armed forces. Out of sight, out of mind.
The woman who flew the coupe is flying high as “Mothers little helper” blares from the Corvettes radio speaker. It had to be experienced (“Are you experienced”)? to be understood. But at least she got 4 wheel disc brakes to bring her back down, while the woman (mistress)? in the ’64 got to experience fading drum brakes as a passenger while her man drove her home a little too fast after a couple too many martini’s.