RIP, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett
I'm not sure if you're aware of this, because it's gone under-reported by the news media, but we lost both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett yesterday. While their families, fans, and the rest of the entertainment world will miss Jackson and Fawcett, we won't be dwelling on their lives or their influence in this space beyond offering our condolences--no doubt a disappointment to those who come to Car Lust for comprehensive hard-news and entertainment coverage. No, we'll be doing something almost as important--focusing on their impact on the world of vehicle advertising.
Of course, their impact in the world of car commercials was vanishingly small compared to a car commercial regular like Ricardo Montalban, but I did find a few commercials to share.
Okay, so this isn't really a car commercial, but it's fantastic anyway. A Japanese-market Suzuki scooter is among the last things I'd expect Michael Jackson to endorse, but after some typically deft dance moves, he sold me on it. I love the fact that they're basically just dancing around the stationary scooter, and we learn nothing at all about the product itself. My favorite part of this highly enjoyable commercial is the way the anonymous dancing woman sits on the scooter and basically bounces up and down for several seconds. I think that's mean to be dancing, but it doesn't really matter. This was at the height of Michael Jackson's popularity, and he carries the commercial on the sheer power of his personality.
Farrah's commercial has a little more content and a dramatically different feel; where Jackson's commercial was very 1980s, Fawcett's commercial is thoroughly infused with 1970s mojo. That includes, among other things, extensive footage of a real cougar. Why don't today's commercials feature shots of live cougars prowling, rubbing up against tires and lounging on car roofs? Well, probably because it's difficult to image a live cougar really caring that much about its Mercury namesake.
This commercial was pushing the 1975 Mercury Cougar, which, like the Chrysler Cordoba, was a great, lumbering leviathan of the personal luxury market. "Personal luxury" at the time meant small-car coupe accommodations in a large car footprint, with distinctive styling touches that remind today's consumer of Huggy Bear on Starsky & Hutch. Ah, I love these cars--especially in the context of today's ultra-serious cars.
Some great moments in this commercial:
0:15 - "Just as unique in its on class as (Lincoln) Continental Mk. IV." Huh. It takes a lot of parsing to figure out if that's meant to be a good thing or not.
0:19 - "... the rich feel of glove-soft vinyl ..." The rich feel of vinyl? Vinyl? I'm convinced that one of the biggest automotive improvements we've seen over the last three decades has been binning vinyl seats.
0:27 - Aren't cougars primarily woodland creatures? Why is this cougar running up a sand dune?
0:37 - "Poised opera window!"
0:49 - This scene confuses me. The setting is meant to be at night--notice the artificially dark black sky, and the pure white moon that we glimpsed through the moonroof--so why is everything in the foreground lit up with warm sunset light? My boss also made a good point that somebody on-set probably had to guide Farrah on how to run in this scene with arms flying sideways so it would look more like a frolic than an athletic run. I'm guessing he's right; I wish I had been there for that moment to hear the in-depth running instructions.
RIP, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.
--Chris H.
edh on June 27, 2009 at 05:57 AM
Why the confusion over the choice of a Cougar?
Wasn't it the dream of every American boy that, one day, Farrah Fawcett might be his Cougar?
Shawn on June 27, 2009 at 08:28 AM
The roof of the Cougar is definately bowing from the weight of the live cougar, they should've padded it with more glove-soft vinyl.
Shawn on June 27, 2009 at 08:35 AM
Also, let us not forget Ed McMahon's turn at selling us Gremlins!
http://www.roadode.com/travel_1.shtml - no way to direct link, but it's worth it.
Chuck on June 27, 2009 at 09:14 AM
Hey, at least Shatner's not in any of these ads.
Anthony Cagle on June 27, 2009 at 09:35 AM
Not sure if this link will work, but we Mustang II fans have her to thank for adding some sex appeal to the Cobra II:
http://drivelikeagirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ff_main36.jpg
IIRC, Farrah (aka, Jill) had the Cobra, Kate Jackson (aka, Sabrina) had the oh-so-practical Pinto, and Jaclyn Smith aka, Kelly) had a regular coupe Mustang II.
That Car Guy on June 27, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Anthony: As James Bond said, "Such a lovely craft. What magnificent lines".
Howie Feltersnatch on June 27, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Back then we didn't have cougars edh, men everywhere did what normal men do an fantasized about young women. Not worn out and used up cougars, sorry ladies. But Farrah was young once, and hot.
Michael, on the other - gloved - hand, was a child toucher. I know he was acqitted, but here's a little known legal rule: when they accuse you of it three different times you're guilty.
Jeff Weimer on June 27, 2009 at 08:08 PM
There are many famous American celebrities who did Japanese commercials, and may were much more weird than MJs here. I think they were told no one would see them back in the States and the money was just too good.
AMcA on June 27, 2009 at 08:45 PM
Notice how her hair changes, and curls itself while she drives?
I bet that'd be a popular accessory if they reintroduced it.
RR on June 28, 2009 at 02:27 AM
It is so stupied that someone has even brought up car commercials in regards to these two personalities dying! I think alot of people have really lost perspective on what their lives really meant. First, it is sad that Michael Jackson lost his life, but are we really surprised that this happened? Yes we lost a great icon as far as music is concerned but think back to the rest of his life, an accused and probable child molester, a man who had his own children, whom he gave very wierd names, walk around with thier entire face and heads hidden all of the time. A man who hung his, youngest child over the balcony of a hotel with a towel over its head, God only knows what long term problems these children are going to have as a result of the way he was raising them, in a wierd way it is a blessing that these children will now be raised by, hopefully stable people and go on to have productive lives. I really think that it is a shame that his death wich ocurred many, many hours after Ms. Fawcetts passing overshadowed her passing in the news and press. We did not even hear of her passing until the news broke of Jacksons death!! Farrah gave so much more to us and to everyone who knew her and if anyone had watched the video accounting her struggle to survive and her strength in the face of her impending death, they would have respected her so much more. I am, along with many others, I am sure, more saddened by her passing than Michaels by far. Don't get me wrong I pray for both families, but also remember that Michaels family was alienated from him up until his trial then when that was over you never saw them again and they never spoke of it they distanced themselves from him and his life until he died and even then, his own lawyer and brother both indicated that he probably died as a result of improper use of prescription drugs. People say "cardiac arrest" and immediately think heart attack, well my friends heart attack is listed as "myocardial infarcation", cardiac arrest is brought about by another means, not a misfunction of the heart due to blockage or defect and the fact that the coroner is saying that the results of the autopsy were incunclusive means that there was no blockage or other defect in the heart it was brought on by other means, so it will be interesting to see what the toxicology report says, although that will now probably be covered up, but even if it was prescriptions drugs I don't think it was on purpose on Michael's part, they need to look at who was closest to him at the time including his "personal doctor". On the other hand we know what took Farrah from us and it was no fault of hers. She had a disease and fought it with every ounce of courage until the very end. God bless you Farrah. You both will be missed, but one more than the other.
Tommy's Dad on June 28, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Not a terrible rant, RR, and with some paragraph spacing maybe even a halfway decent one. I'd grade it...eh, a C-. But really though, look around this blog. We talk about strange and interesting cars, not the life and times and personal struggles and shortcomings of celebrities. Unless you got something on their personal car collections, weird car ads are about all we have to talk about that's relevant to this blog.
So, to practice what I'm preaching about relevance, Jeff Weimer said "There are many famous American celebrities who did Japanese commercials, and may were much more weird than MJs here. I think they were told no one would see them back in the States and the money was just too good." I find that to be an intriguing and compelling idea...any chance of a "Weird Japanese car ads featuring celebrities that never thought we'd see them" post or theme sometime in the future?
John B on June 29, 2009 at 08:39 AM
Farrah and her George Barris modified Corvette are on the cover of a new book about Barris and his "Cars of the stars".
It seems in the 70s it was common for a celebrity to license their names for car show vehicles...which were then often made into model kits. Farrah's "Foxy 'Vette" was reasonably tasteful (for the disco-era)with nice paint, a body kit and a fur-looking interior. A huge phone on the dash reminds us how far electronics have come in 30 years. It seems barris made two cars, the book reports Farrah got a similar car for personal street use.
I wonder if Michael Jackson had a similar deal...I don't think he was a "car guy" in fact, I don't know if he drove at all. But somewhere in the back of my mind I do recall a "Jackson 5" model kit of a van or something.
Then again, I might be imagining it.
RIP Farrah & Mike....
David Colborne on June 29, 2009 at 09:11 AM
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Michael Jackson didn't die. He just went home.
Billy Mays also died on Sunday - I wonder if he did any car commercials?
Tommy's Dad on June 29, 2009 at 09:45 AM
Not that I recall, but he did sell some sort of paint scratch fixing product, and the ad had him running a nail over a blue Prius and then using the product to cover it over. Not bad for something you could probably get for $5 at AutoZone, but not exactly a replacement for professional detailing and repainting.
John Bono on June 30, 2009 at 05:11 AM
Well, its not quite a car commercial, but its close enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMk7k-Gftmc
RIP Billy Mays
OldCarGuy on June 30, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Not a commercial, but a video tribute to Farrah Fawcett which, at 1:33 has Farrah gracing the seat of an MGB (recently featured here at Car Lust) with her presence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtNeSOGkvI&feature=player_embedded
I'd forgotten just how gorgeous she was.