Before they’re all gone, you’d better get your 1969 Dodge Charger, because apparently people used to just steal them off of film sets back in the late ‘60s. That’s at least the impression you get when you watch this vintage Dodge Charger commercial with Joan Parker.
During the 1960-1970s, Dodge introduced Joan Parker as part of their new marketing ad campaign that included three people, the Dodge “Rebellion Girl”, the Dodge “Fever Girl”, and the Dodge “Material Girl” — Joan was the Fever Girl, introduced in 1968 for the new Dodge models. The campaign was a hit, and Joan was everywhere during the time period. She was such a hit with viewers that she received over 500 letters from American soldiers during her first year with Dodge.
During the era, getting a leading role in a TV commercial was a huge deal, often paving the way for young actresses. Joan was cute, quirky, and often featured her ‘White Hat’ deals in the commercials, like the one seen on the Charger at the end of this one. By the end of 1969, Joan would hand her famous white hat over to Cheryl Miller.
Believe it or not, production of car commercials in the late 1960s took about three months to film. Think about that one, this commercial, just over a minute long, took three months of work to get it out the door. In today’s world, it takes about a third of the time to plan, film, and edit a commercial for TV, or less if the team is ambitious.
These were much simpler times for sure — obviously since the idea of people jumping into cars and driving them out of production studios without being taken down by a team of taser toting security guards wasn’t that far fetched.
Did you think they even knew back then that the 1969 Dodge Charger would become one of the most popular muscle cars of all time?
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
