1970 Chevelle SS Marketing Photos

[Mr70]

That SUPERCAR ad was actually "photoshopped" back then.I have the original somewhere showing it was a regular dirt road and they later edited the ditch in the center.

[Lee Stewart]

Originally Posted by Mr70

That SUPERCAR ad was actually "photoshopped" back then.I have the original somewhere showing it was a regular dirt road and they later edited the ditch in the center.

That's not what the creator of the ad, Art Director Jim Bernardin says:

''This was one of those unexpected delights that sometimes can be found if you keep your eyes and mind open for picture opportunities. We were on our way to a location at the Disney Ranch in Los Angeles when we were confronted with a washed-out road. It had been raining for several days and we were way behind on our schedule. It looked like we were not going to make it to our location but it didn't matter because here was something nobody could have imagined. I told Warren, our photographer, that this was going to be the best picture we would make of the Chevelle SS or anything else on this trip.

''The Chevelle, with its big new engines, you might imagine could leap across this road like Superman going over a tall building. We made three versions of the situation: the one you see here and two others that featured the front of the car with the washed-out road in the background. We did the one you see here first and I was satisfied that we had it, but Warren argued for the other views.

''We often had disagreements about pictures and solved them by doing two versions. Because I was the art director, I usually won out in the end--but not always. Warren and I were very good friends and had grown up together in the business. I tried my very best to sell this ad to Chevrolet, but we had too many other good, more heroic views of the car with good situations that they chose to use.

''This is an ad that I wish had run, but I am happy to have saved the layout and to show it now. The colors in the print are faded and the retouching on the tire marks is crude, but would have been made right for the finished art. Win some, lose some.''

https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/mu...S/3334661.html

[Mr70]

Then I must have a shortened photo of it,because there is no break in the road.

[mockingbird812]

Goodness Gracious! What is wrong with modern car advertising!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just love these shots - thanks for posting!!!!

[RPOLS3]

Cool thread - thanks for sharing

[edcar70]

Why did they not advertise the L-78s for the 70 chevelles and elcaminos?

[Mr70]

Because they were only produced for roughly the first 90 days of assembly,before being discontinued for the new LS-6 in November/December 1969.
If they did publically advertise the L-78 as heavily as others,by the time the materials hit the news stands,the cars would've been defunct already.
There are small mentions of the 1970 L-78 chevelle in certain early salesmens publications,but that was brief.

[Keith Seymore]

Lee - thanks for posting; a couple comments:

a) When I was the engineering rep on the program team for my various GM Truck projects, one of my jobs was to review the advertising literature to make sure there were no mistakes in it. I looked at option content (and mix), specifications (dimensional and powertrain), photos, etc. It wasn't easy, as it takes a person with a head for the product but even then there is a tremendous amount of detail and, if you let your guard down, mistakes can slip out.

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

[B]PR and Brochure photos have to be taken months before the new model year cars get into the dealer's showrooms. Many times the cars that are used for these photos are pre-production cars. Sometimes the cars are missing engines, interiors and all kinds of emblems that are still being tooled up.

Well said. Or the content - both appearance and option content - is still in a state of flux. Also - the subject may have built as one vehicle and are "dolled up" to represent something else*. The "Malibu SS" shown in your first post is probably an example of that. I wouldn't be surprised if the 6 cylinder car shown here is the same as the car with the kill stickers/police content.

The car was perhaps provided with the condition that no open hood shots be taken, which ultimately accidentally or intentionally got ignored.

K

A more recent example: I took a qty of twenty 2011 Chevy Volts and converted them (in appearance) to 2012 Opel Amperas, for use in the Geneva Auto show and other GM Europe marketing exercises.

[Keith Seymore]

I thought perhaps this was the same young lady (and swim suit) but now that I see them in the same spot they are not as similar as I remembered -

[Keith Seymore]

This one was taken at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan. Taken from Barnes Circle, looking south with the building area in the upper left (16% test hill in the background). The building area is the highest point in both Oakland and Livingston counties, which is why this patch of ground was chosen for the proving ground originally.

I don't know why that is so important for me to know (and share) but I do enjoy seeing if I can tell where these photos were taken.

K