Poetry In Motion – Classic Boat Cave Art
Perfection
To quote Marshall McLuhan “Ads are the cave art of the twentieth century.” has long been a guiding light for how I approach my work as an Advertising person. I see the higher art in it. Yes, I know, Underwear at $1.99 is not art. But for some of us in the profession, we continually strive to raise the bar. And with that in mind, I love the romance that older ads for classic boating created.
What a fantastic headline! Amazing art direction! No wonder this brand did so well.
In fact one could argue that advertising should be given credit for our passion of classic boating. Many of us are living out the imagery that was embedded in our brains as children and young adults. It’s a proven fact that we buy based on emotion. And someplace in our brains, the romance of a work of art on the water captured our imagination. And even though at the time we would not have been able to live out that fantasy, we can now. And thats in a sense what we here are all about. Living out a dream. And I am loving it!
It took 40 years. But I did
Oh and one more ad. ALL SHIRTS ARE $15 ACT NOW BEFORE YOUR SIZE IS GONE!
From a ’58 catalog
I love the 1930 Motorboating mag cover.
I think that cover is terrific as well. I’m going to do some research and see if I can track down a source to get a print of this. I guess Matt knows!
Mercury ad from 1971 ? No, it’s a photo we took last summer, and doctored a bit.
My dad bought one of the first “Fat Fifties” in 1958 for our 21′ Bryant Voyager, replacing the original 35hp + 25hp pair the boat was delivered with in 1954. On our first trip, we ran out of gas about 1/4 mile shy or our usual first stop for gas in Coronet Bay. Those things were thirsty!
Here is one of my favorites – on my office wall – Ii apologize for the poor photo…
I know this isn’t an ad, but it is a 1930 photo of my mother on the bow of my Grandfather’s cruiser butting up the DYC Detroit Yacht Club burgee.
I actually remember her wearing those shorts when I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
oooops Putting up
That is photographic art Art!! Accidental perfection, or a professional photographer? Sorry about the second Art, I couldn’t resist the alliteration.
oooops Putting up
McCulloch had a series of ads featuring this same model. A sports car, good looking lady and a sexy outboard motor! Doesn’t get any better than that!
‘Nother one.
Late to the party today. Just had to weigh in. Mid 70s outboard motor adds are good for man caves also
Mark:
I never saw that ad, but my FIL bought one of those 70HP Johnson’s to replace the old engine on his MFG. Now I know why!
Sterling Engine Company advertisement
P K Wrigley’s boat “Wasp”
I worked for the Wm Wrigley Jr. company for several years. Found this advertisement and sent a color copy to Bill Wrigley Jr. It made for a very interesting personal conversation with Bill Jr at next national meeting about the fleet of Wrigley wooden boats over the years.