Great Commercials--1963 Studebaker Lark & Avanti
As our story opens, ace salesman "Sharpie McDeal" (not his name, but that's what I'm calling him) spies a customer entering his Studebaker dealership's swank modern showroom. My comments are below the fold.
0:05 - We're starting out well. Sharpie has on his finest Botany 500 suit and narrow tie; the showroom has that clean modern look; the Avanti is nicely displayed.
0:06 - "The Avanti! World's fastest production car!" Way to hit the talking points, Sharpie!
0:11 - Sharpie! You doofus! An attractive lady customer is in your showroom ogling the high-end halo car, and you just told her she's too old to buy it. (In living rooms throughout greater South Bend, Studebaker employees are wailing, gnashing teeth, rending garments, and throwing things at their TV sets in frustration.)
0:16 - First you insult her, then you send her down the street to the Oldsmobile dealer. (In the living rooms of South Bend, there are mutterings about tar and feathers. "Is GM paying him to sabotage our '63 model year?" they ask.)
0:18 - "Parking a big car is like coaxing a dinosaur into a cave backwards." Preach it, sister!!!
0:36 - I'm of two minds here. On the one hand, Sharpie has recovered from his initial gaffe-fest well enough to get the customer interested in a Studebaker again. On the other hand, instead of up-selling her from a Lark to an Avanti, he's down-selling her from the Avanti to the Lark. Sharpie, did the sales training seminar teach you nothing?
0:54 - Here we see Studebaker's exclusive built-in vanity case. Nearly a half-century later, does Lexus offer one? Maserati? Mercedes? They don't? Uncouth Philistines, the lot of 'em!
0:59 - Disc brakes and a built-in vanity case--what else could you need?
1:08 - "What are you doing, ma'am?" "Obviously, writing a check." Look, Sharpie my boy, when the customer starts handing you money, don't argue with her!
1:19 - As Sharpie collects a commission he did nothing to deserve (and the citizens of South Bend decide maybe they won't tar and feather him this time) Studebaker fans will take note of the Lark Wagonaire (a future Car Lust "Wagon Fever" subject) in the foreground.
One thing that strikes me about this ad is the interaction between Sharpie McDeal and his customer. It plays less like two people meeting for the first time, and more like a sketch from a long-running series. Were these two actors in a stand-up act or a variety show or sitcom together? I was a mere toddler when this commercial aired, and I don't recognize either of them.
I should also say that I don't think the humor in it has stood the test of time.
Finally, take a good look at that showroom in the last shot. This is mid-century aesthetics at a glance: men in suits, women in nice dresses with jackets and hats, tasteful wood paneling, clean straight lines, class. This is the culture that the Sixties "counter-culture" was countering. This is what the British Invasion invaded. This is what we lost at Woodstock.
I don't think I'd necessarily want to live in that world full-time, but reviving a little of that pre-hippie swankness sure wouldn't hurt. Failing that, I'll take an Avanti with an R2 engine and a four-speed.
Hey, c'mon, the counter-counterculture has to start somewhere. Might as well be in my driveway.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Chris Hafner on August 08, 2008 at 08:39 AM
In a long, proud history of unbelievable car salesmen in commercials, this guy is perhaps the least believable. I like the way he rears back slightly and clenches his fist when delivering his Avanti monologue, then keeps pointing at her. Also great is the glamour shot of her smiling, reflected in the vanity mirror.
As a mid-century devotee myself, I found this paragraph particularly potent:
"Finally, take a good look at that showroom in the last shot. This is mid-century aesthetics at a glance: men in suits, women in nice dresses with jackets and hats, tasteful wood paneling, clean straight lines, class. This is the culture that the Sixties "counter-culture" was countering. This is what the British Invasion invaded. This is what we lost at Woodstock."
Amen.
Oh, and this is how this sales floor interaction would go today, in the aggressive, informed Internet age:
CUSTOMER: May I see the best you have in a car?
SALESMAN: Certainly, nothing tops the all-around performance of the Avanti ...
CUSTOMER: Yes, yes. I'm willing to pay $200 over dealer invoice, take it or leave it.
SALESMAN: Can't I tell you about disc brakes and the built-in vanity?
CUSTOMER: No, I don't need to hear your snake-oil. I'm offering $200 over dealer invoice, and no tricks.
SALESMAN: Yes ma'am, I mean, no ma'am. What monthly payment are you willing to pay?
CUSTOMER: I'm willing to pay cash, $200 over dealer invoice.
SALESMAN: Well, why don't you come into our sales office and we can run some numbers to get you to the monthly payment you're comfortable with?
CUSTOMER: Young man, I said nothing about monthly payments. And there's no way I'm going in there!
SALESMAN: Well, we can talk over your trade-in, your interest rate, extended warranties, pinstriping, undercarriage lubrication, road assisstance ...
CUSTOMER: Talking to you is like coaxing a dinosaur into a cave backwards! I will give you $200 over invoice. You don't have to take it, but give me a straight answer.
SALESMAN: Please, will you at least come into the sales office? I'll be fired if you don't.
CUSTOMER: No. I'm taking my business elsewhere.
SALESMAN: Tell you what - why don't you check around with some other dealers and bring their best quote back to me? Then we can talk price.
CUSTOMER: ...
SALESMAN: What are you doing ma'am?
CUSTOMER: Obviously, leaving. Because, young man, you are such an, um, *excellent* salesman.
Mochi Mochi on August 08, 2008 at 08:42 AM
I'm guessing that this was an ad from a New York agency using local talent. "Were these two actors in a stand-up act or a variety show or sitcom together?" I think rather than that, they were part of the theatrical scene of the time. The pace and direction of the commercial is right out of the New York Theater/Musical experience of the time. Fast paced, strongly inflected stentorian speech.
It also displays two things: 1) Why Studebaker is sadly no longer with us, and 2) How ad agencies (at least this one) weren't always good at selling cars, and really miss the mark. Cookie your analysis of "cringe" moments really hits at the heart of what's wrong with this ad, at least as far as selling Studebakers goes. There was clearly a problem in the Studebaker / Ad Agency strategy meetings.
But you've also picked an amazing classic. What a world. I'm definitely digging the sleek mid-century decor and styling. Makes me wonder if today's overly lit dealerships, ringed with cubicles, and stocked with "Zero money down" sign-toting mascots and uber-vixens will have nostalgic value 50 years from now.
I want a Lark!
Steve on August 09, 2008 at 05:03 PM
What on Earth? That woman is wearing pince nez glasses from the 30s in a commercial aired in the 60s?! WTF. Did Studebaker have a clue about the public that might buy their autos? The hat, the glasses, the up-town wealth and "sophistication" of that woman would turn the average buyer away from having anything to do with Studebaker -- that elitist car-maker. They'd rather buy a Chevy -- and did so in droves. Studebaker: Elitist they were and that's why they no longer are. Packard went the same way.
Dave on August 11, 2008 at 12:42 PM
They should have given Sterling Cooper the account.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on August 12, 2008 at 06:49 AM
@Chris -- Love the revised script!
@Mochi -- A Lark, sir? If you order the optional R2 supercharged engine, we'll throw in the uber-vixen accessory group at no extra charge!
Chris Hafner on August 12, 2008 at 09:18 AM
I'm fascinated by the stilted conversation between these two. They're not really talking to each other - and the female customer is evidently capable of incredibly fast movement. One moment she's sitting in the car, leaning over to reflect her face in the vanity mirror, and asking about disc brakes. Three seconds later, we see her leaning casually against the Lark's hood.