After posting yesterday's blog about the Lotus Cortina I found myself in a flashback to 1970 when, as creative director of the Ford of Europe account for the J. Walter Thompson ad agency, my little gang of writers and art directors was charged with creating launch advertising for the important new Ford Cortina and Ford Taunus sedans; twins in all but grille and a few trim pieces. The ads would appear in Germany and 10 other countries though not in England, where another agency held the Ford account. Odd, considering that our offices were in the heart of London.
In those years marketing rivalry between UK-located Ford of Europe and Ford Germany was so intense that when we presented our concepts in JWT's Frankfurt offices WW2 broke out all over again! After a week in the Frankfurt Intercontinental, which our creative group had used as temporary workspace, my art director, David Barker, was so shaken by the inter-office wars that he collapsed on the hotel's front steps. "More Car Between the Wheels" was the compromise theme line. It was not our first or even our second choice; they had been shot down by the warring factions.
A few weeks later we found ourselves (uncomplaining in this instance) in Caserta, Italy, our pro photographers shooting stills for print ads while the sales promotion cameramen took care of catalog requirements. I found this image in the McLellan's automobile literature site, virtually identical to some we shot at sunrise on a deserted Italian airfield. Anyone know of a Cortina or Taunus from that era still being driven or maybe even restored? Looking back on those years I wonder how many (or few) survived, considering that as cars they were not very exciting to drive, although nicely styled.