WIll your Next Car be a Pontiac?

If you want a new Pontiac Star Chief in 1957 I guess all you need to know is that it has leg room?
Well I guess this advertisement by Pontiac thinks that the new Pontiac Star Chief has some excellent leg room as it exclaims, "Spread Your Legs!" to an adult 1950s audience.

This is a pretty weird advertisement I must say, not only because of the large print of "Spread Your Legs!" but because of the glare in both the man and woman's eyes. What are they looking at? They might be thinking about the brilliant red interior of the new car or maybe they're people watching through the window. Nobody could really know for sure. All we know about this car is that It has "maximum leg-room" for someone that may like to hangout in it, or do whatever they would like to. The man might actually be thinking about what he would like to do in the Pontiac, in his black tuxedo, with the women in a red dress. The writing below the initial "Spread Your Legs" is presented for the purpose of clarifying the larger text.

The effectiveness of the advertisement is seen in the attention is receives rather the actual presentation of how the car operates, announcing that it has leg room. This references the lustful side of the people that may want to buy this vehicle. It appeals to an adult audience that can drive in the 1950s, primarily one that is not against getting a little freaky in the backseat. The "Spread Your Legs" alludes to a lustful experience of a male and a female as presented in the advertisement, and has the purpose to persuade car-driving adults to buy the new Pontiac. This advertisement also corresponds to the time period of the 50s and the baby boom that occurred during this time. Men were back from war and this meant an increase in babies and a booming economy that was centered around the next "up and coming" thing. Was the Pontiac Star Chief the next up and coming thing? Pontiac sure hoped so, as their advertisement appealed to the baby boom of the time period and the avarice nature of Americans after World War 2. This is presented in the sexual manner of "Spread Your Legs" in relation to a brand new luxury car in the 1950s. As well as the clothing that is worn by both the male and female, luxury clothing that then correspond to a luxury car. I would not say that Pontiac is taking advantage of the audience, rather, uses the culture of the 1950s in a way to present their product. This is smart advertising in my opinion but can be questioned by appealing to the lustful and avarice nature of the time period. Pontiac deliberately walks the fine line of what is morally right and wrong in advertising, drawing attention to their advertisement and therefore the car. Thus, accomplishing its purpose in having audience members notice the car and possibly become interested in the product. I only have one question to ask...will your next car be a Pontiac?


Harambe died for this,
Connor Finnegan