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Ford ads (mid-1960s)

Photo(s) by Bart Solenthaler. Imported from Flickr on May 9, 2020. Artwork published in
circa 1965
.
“Makes a fine second car” – ad for Ford pickups (1966) ft. two weights of .
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Bart Solenthaler and tagged with “futura”. License: All Rights Reserved.

“Makes a fine second car” – ad for Ford pickups (1966) ft. two weights of Futura.

Volkswagen was not the only car manufacturer using Futura for their adverts. A few years after the launch of the famous campaign by Volkswagen of America, competitor Ford relied on Paul Renner’s groundbreaking geometric sans serif, too. Unlike Volkswagen’s, though, their use was hardly consistent. This sample of magazine ads from the mid-1960s shows that Ford had no recognizable visual identity beyond the Blue Oval logo (with script lettering credited to Childe Harold Wills). Almost every model was advertised in a different, at times seemingly random typeface.

“Announcing: Mercury Discovery Special!” – ad for Ford Mercury (1966), also set in , here in three of its weights.
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Bart Solenthaler and tagged with “futura”. License: All Rights Reserved.

“Announcing: Mercury Discovery Special!” – ad for Ford Mercury (1966), also set in Futura, here in three of its weights.

“If you fly ‘Economy’ to have a longer and better vacation, you’ll understand all about our Falcon” – ad for Ford Falcon (1966), pairing  with  for the copy.
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Bart Solenthaler and tagged with “artcraft”. License: All Rights Reserved.

“If you fly ‘Economy’ to have a longer and better vacation, you’ll understand all about our Falcon” – ad for Ford Falcon (1966), pairing Artcraft with Helvetica for the copy.

“Sweetheart of the Supermarket Set” – ad for the Ford Mustang (1966), with  AKA Standard for display type and the similar  for the copy.
Source: www.flickr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

“Sweetheart of the Supermarket Set” – ad for the Ford Mustang (1966), with Akzidenz-Grotesk AKA Standard for display type and the similar Helvetica for the copy.

“Jekyll & Hyde” – ad for Ford Cortina from the English Ford Line (1965), combining big  with text in .
Source: www.flickr.com Uploaded to Flickr by Bart Solenthaler and tagged with “optima”. License: All Rights Reserved.

“Jekyll & Hyde” – ad for Ford Cortina from the English Ford Line (1965), combining big Optima with text in Times New Roman.

“My Daddy gets a big charge out of our Fairlane” – ad for the Ford Fairlane (1964) in , striking a macho and anthophobic tone.
Source: www.flickr.com License: All Rights Reserved.

“My Daddy gets a big charge out of our Fairlane” – ad for the Ford Fairlane (1964) in Baskerville Old Face, striking a macho and anthophobic tone.

5 Comments on “Ford ads (mid-1960s)”

  1. Around the same time, in 1966, Ford hired Paul Rand to redesign the logo. According to Safet Satara of AutoWise, “the proposed solution was too radical for Henry Ford II, so the more conventional emblem prevailed.”

  2. Rand’s mark looks great, but it’s kind of cool it wasn’t accepted. Like Coca-Cola, Ford one of the few companies with a 100+-year-old signature logo that has stood the test of time.

  3. Also, thank you for teaching me the word “anthophobic”. Haha!

  4. In case someone comes across this one day, does anyone know the typeface used for the word “MUSTANG” on the 1964 Ford Mustang emblems/badging? Thanks.

  5. Hi Mizi, is this the one you’re looking for?

    Chances are it’s custom. Among typefaces, Volta and Craw Clarendon come close, but aren’t quite as wide.

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