CHEVROLET | CORVAIR OLYMPICS | 1960
In 1960, a Battle Called the Olympics / CHEVROLET "CORVAIR OLYMPICS"
In 1960, Chevrolet was the challenger. Into a compact car market dominated by the Volkswagen Beetle, they threw a punch with the Corvair's revolutionary rear-engine, air-cooled design. The launch campaign was named "OLYMPICS," and it reportedly won a Grand Prix.
The problem
1960 was the year all of America's Big Three automakers piled into the compact car market. Ford and Chrysler both went with scaled-down versions of their existing designs, but GM was different. The Corvair packed an aluminum air-cooled horizontally-opposed 6-cylinder engine in the rear — a design that was unheard of in America.
The idea
Since the video is titled "OLYMPICS," I'd guess the ad was probably built around some kind of competition or comparison of performance. There are records showing that the Corvair touted its traction performance in snow at the time, so maybe there was some scene showing a "race" against rival cars.
What happened
There's information that it won a Grand Prix.
Afterthought
In 1960, the Corvair sold 26,000 units on its first day and was named Motor Trend's "Car of the Year." It was an era when both the ads and the cars were taking risks. But that's as far as I could confirm. What kind of footage this ad had, what words it used, what it pitted against what — that's a privilege reserved for those who watch the video themselves.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 1960
