The year is
1960. The American World War II
generation is maturing and many of this group are in their prime earning
years. It is a time of design
decadence in automobiles, with new shapes and gadgets introduced yearly as
conspicuous consumer fashion. The magazines of the time feature incredible
breakthroughs in the technology that directly impacts consumers and daily
life. With the space race in full
swing, freeways being completed in metropolitan areas, and a shift to suburban
living, promotion of the new Imperial for 1960 reached a zenith of sorts in
Imperial advertising.
1960 was a
very special model year for Imperial, and the advertising department went out
of its way to get the news out.
1960 saw a
giant leap in the company�s investment in Imperial as a separate marque/car
line. In late 1959, the new
Imperial assembly plant on West Warren Avenue opened for the first time, being
dedicated exclusively to the manufacture of the Imperial automobile.
This exclusive and expensive new assembly-line was intended to allow
tighter quality control and an expanded capacity for the Chrysler
corporation�s top-of-the-line automobile.
The plant began assembling
1959 Imperials in September, 1958. Production of Imperials switched back to
East Jefferson Avenue at the end of the 1961 model year. West Warren became
available in the summer of 1958 when DeSoto production moved from Wyoming
Avenue to East Jefferson. The West Warren plant built bodies for DeSoto
starting in 1950 and assembled DeSoto hemi TV engines. West Warren was
purchased from Graham-Paige in 1948 and sold in the late 1960's.
Parts of the West Warren Avenue plant are still standing.
The Online Imperial Club 1960 page has a copy of the exciting press
release with full detail on this eventful change of Imperial address. Also see the Warren Avenue link below for more details regarding the new plant.
The
advertisements for 1960 were like no others in surrounding years.
The standard fare for Imperial ads was understated conservatism with a
consistent look in all ads, regardless of publication or size format.
Also, ads were designed to be capable of being run in any publication.
The Vogue Magazine Spread
Imperial pulled out all the stops to attract women (and
their husbands) with this colorful and fashionable spread in Vogue
magazine. Besides being reminiscent of the Imperial
Fashion Show from 1956, it also provides an excellent glimpse of the
inside of Imperial division's new production location at the Warren
Avenue plant.
The Holiday Magazine Campaign
1960 saw an ad campaign dedicated to HOLIDAY fine-dining and food magazine
in the large format. These are the black and white double page ads with a
metallic gold eagle crest (therefore they are color, but artistic B&W)
that are double page with ample ad copy beneath or to the side. Each month's
setup featured a new and different ad, with the cars displayed in exclusive or
important settings. Almost all previous Imperial advertisements had been
single page to this time.
� Chauffeur waits patiently near the Hall of Justice
� Upscale Garden Party - man holds a radio-telephone (!) that is
apparently hardwired to the car.
� VIP's are exclusively met on the tarmac by their chauffeur and Imperial,
next to their just arrived aircraft (with rear stabilizer cropped so as not to
distract from the cars' own fins!)
� The Wedding - guests and an Imperial LeBaron await the woman you'd want
to marry, if only for her taste in fine automobiles.
� Exclusive, LeBaron bodied Imperial waits in front of a meeting place
flanked by its motorcycle escort admiring the car's lines (with apparent
envy).
The Full-Color Imperial Ads
There was a separate Imperial ad campaign designed for Reader's Digest and
National Geographic magazines that featured 5 consistent-format full color ads
with the Imperial shown in different poses and 4 different colors amongst the
bunch of ads. These featured a car on top and a close-up shot of the interior
below. Fit and finish quality are the main point here, with subtle references
to improved or perfected manufacturing that was as close to hand-built as a
mass produced car could be, according to the text. This message was then
reinforced at the dealership with news of Imperial's totally dedicated
manufacturing facility and superior engineering features such as
Electro-Luminescent Instrumentation, Torsion Bar suspension, Auto-Pilot,
"squared" comfort steering wheel, and many other items.
These color ad formats were also to occasionally show up in
the coffee-table size format of LIFE (although LIFE never carried
"Imperial only" ads). LOOK Magazine was the primary recipient of
this large format version. Both Look and Holiday were chosen as upscale
magazines more likely to be capable of reaching the upscale clientele
associated with the Imperial line.
