Does the pony car bring us all together?
In these divisive times it’s great to watch old car commercials. After all, you’re reminded of kindler, gentler times or at least marketing spin done in a cheesier way. These commercials launched at the same time as the SN95 Ford Mustang are great examples of that. They portray the American muscle car as a unifying element in society, something we can all agree is pretty cool. And immediately I’m going to get flamed online for that statement, demonstrating exactly what’s wrong with the modern age of the internet.
One of the commercials (it’s just above) tells the tale of next door neighbors from different generations. They think the other guy doesn’t know anything about fashion or proper behavior. We see this play out today, if you even talk to your neighbors, which too many people don’t. Finally, realizing they’re both Mustang fans of different generations, they bond. It doesn’t always play out that way in the car world, but we can dream, right?
Then at the end of the commercial we see mortal enemies putting their arms around each other in front of an SN95 Mustang GT, because apparently it brings out the best in everyone? It’s a nice message, even if in a really cynical way you can say it was done just to sell cars.
There’s the other commercial, where the long-haired 90s guy tells the story of the groomsmen at a wedding going out to decorate the groom’s FordMustang GT. They couldn’t bring themselves to spray shaving cream all over it because it was just too beautiful. Too bad what they didn’t know was only a few short years later the clear coat would be toast from a mere three days of UV light exposure. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts.
Would ads like these survive the rigors of online commentary today? After the complete shredding of Subaru commercials and Peloton exercise bikes on social media, it’s tempting to say no. Instead, we get commercials of graduates thinking their parents bought them a new Chevy Camaro, which is pretty epic.
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Steven Symes
Steven Symes
