Hank Kolodziej
1966 AMC Marlin Fastback - Artist's Sample
McNamara Associates
Gouache

This artist's sample of a 1967 Marlin is a great example of a "lifestyle" piece. In the late 1960s advertising began to target youth markets, using "hip" slang and younger models. This particular painting shows a young, attractive couple on a date. Their coy postures are a far cry from the sturdy middle class families and elegant couples depicted in the decades before.

Interestingly, the two models were employees of McNamara Associates. They worked in the matte room cutting boards for the artists.

George Bertels
1980 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe - National Ad
John Kwiatkowski & Associates
Airbrush and gouache

Detroit was sluggish in representing a diverse audience in advertising. African-Americans and Latinos were seldom seen in advertising. And, women were often just passengers or sex symbols. The gains of the civil rights movement in the 1960s slowly rocked the auto manufacturers. A Chicago Tribune article dated August 15, 1972 called such diversity "long overdue."

This painting of a 1980 Camaro Sport Coupe is a rare example of marketing to African-Americans.

In the 1950s, ads for a single model (for example, the Thunderbird) became more common relative to ads which promoted an entire marque. Advances in both manufacturing and marketing began to point towards a process which would become especially pronounced in the 1960s: the diversification of automobile models to fulfill various needs.

In the turbulent 1960s, a skeptical and individualistic sentiment arose that helped to overturn one of the most important narratives which advertisers had fostered for so long to sell cars. Consumers no longer universally aspired to own a deluxe “status” car like a Cadillac or Lincoln. Fewer consumers focused on ascending through marques in order to achieve respectability.

Instead, consumers bought cars based on their interests, age and identity. Car owners sought different makes and models when their needs or self-image altered (or needed altering through the acquisition of a swaggering, sexy car!).

Responding to consumer demand and the pressures of competition, Detroit built ever more varieties of cars, with more kinds of advertising, directed to an ever-diversifying group of consumers.

The family car and the “status” car gave way to increasingly diverse products. There were commuters, single women, hip youth with money, African Americans, and so on... and everyone needed a different type of car and a different approach.

The auto industry was quicker to market to the youthful set than minorities. However, a February 1970 Time article revealed just how quickly the market could change and then return to the former status quo: “A picture-taking session for new Pontiac promotions was interrupted by an order that the young male models trim their sideburns and pose in conventional clothes.”