Passover is a great time , family and friends get together every spring and celebrate a wonderful Jewish holiday. So yesterday as my mother was slaving in the kitchen (along with the catering staff) my father showed me some new pieces we acquired in our constantly expanding NY Yankee memorabilia collection. Some late 1970’s and early 1980’s World Series programs.
Of course looking at the line ups and the old school team photos are great, but the real treasure in these classic programs are the advertisements. Ads have a way a capturing a moment in time and a glimpse into our pop culture past.
I came across some gems in these three programs, but one really took the cake : The infamous renegade car designer John DeLorean in an ad for Cutty Sark , yes Cutty Sark the brand of liquor. And it’s not like Mr. DeLorean is simply featured as a celebrity endorsing his favorite alcoholic beverage , but there also appears the image of the iconic DeLorean car (most people would not it as Doc Browns time machine in “Back To The Future”)
Now anything related to DeLorean has always fascinated me, there was a family down the block from me growing up that owned a DeLorean and it was a sick looking car that always stuck with me. That fact coupled with the Delorean FBI drug sting story (which is a whole other blog post entirely) makes Mr. DeLorean a unique and fascinating american entrepeneur.
But the true greatness of this Ad is that , it is a car company blatantly endorsing an alcohol brand complete with an image of both a drink and a car on the same page. How would the organization M.A.D.D. feel about this piece and would it even be legal in todays landscape?
Drinking and Driving is no joke, but again this ad gives a great look into what society was like in 1981, the crusade against drunk driving had clearly not gained steam at this point, but John Delorean was definitely making some hot looking rides!
Matthews World 