Sunday, April 27, 2014- ‘Jeep’ The 2-Car Cars Ad Campaign

The concept of the jeep as a dual purpose vehicle was an idea and a selling point to Willys-Overland right from the very beginning of the first CJ. But it wasn’t an idea that truly took off for the company until the 1960’s when Americans started using these rough little brutes in a big way for not only work, but play. Meanwhile the ad men at work selling the jeep realized this dual nature as well starting right back at the old station wagon ‘Two City’ ad campaign of the late 1940’s and early 50’s when they emphasized the appeal of the jeep worldwide showing the wagon at home from Montreal to Miami, from Johannesburg to Jacksonville. I liked those ads and then more ads with the message of dualities in the jeep appeared in what I presented last week with the ‘Twice The Fun, Twice The Safety’ ads. These came along just two to three years before these ads today of 1969. I think that they cleverly pointed out that one jeep in your household would fulfill two purposes for the burgeoning American market that wanted something practical and something fun to use with the growing free time that the middle class had. Another thing that I love about these particular ads is that they list in their margins the magazines that would be running them. Check them all out here.

These ads were once again found at the wonderful auto enthusiasts website, a “web magazine/blog” Lov2xlr8. I’ve been cleaning up the site for the last few weeks. Its a big chore! Please let me know if you find any broken links or something that could use a refresher or fixing. I’m now about 3/4 of the way through the work that I’m completing after the big loss of data back last fall. I’ve been happy with the way things are shaping up. What do you think? Shoot me an email about anything you’d like atthisoldjeepdotcom@gmail.com. 

I’ve also been wanting to promote the idea of showcasing a reader’s builds and/or stories. I’ve always been fascinated with how other people got into their love affair with the jeep and what they drive and work on and why. I’d love to have you on these pages with your jeeps. Like to chat for a bit? Email at the address above and you could be gracing the pages of This-Old-Jeep.com. Come back next week for lots more of the best of the jeep since 1940!