Sex sells. Sexism? Not so much. But in the 1960s world of advertising as depicted in "Mad Men", sexism was the norm. Here we see "Trudy", an attractive young lady who the ad wants you to believe is a Corvair Corsa owner. She didn't like driving because driving was boring. But then along came the Corvair Corsa and now driving is just swell. Because it's a car marketed toward young people, the ad uses key terms like "became hip to", "she dug its tenacious rear-engine traction", and "she was a real swinger at the wheel". It gives me a mental picture of a middle-aged man in an ad agency, with a comb-over, thick rimmed glasses and a starched white shirt with a skinny black necktie reading the ad copy aloud in a dull voice. What exactly does it mean to be a swinger at the wheel? Does Trudy mess around in the front seat? At least it doesn't play the "So easy to drive, even your wife can do it" card.
This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life Magazine.
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