Ford Mustang Advertising - 1964 to 2015

The Mustang in different packages for the various buyers

  • Appeared in major publications
  • A barrage of creative ads
  • The game-changing car

The success of the original "Pony Car"

Historians agree that in April of 1964 when the Ford Mustang was released to the buying public, the car practically sold itself as it looked much more expensive than it was, plus, it was so exciting, new and fresh in overall appearance that buyers just came to the car in the showrooms. 

Ford Motor Company's advertising agency at the time was J. Walter Thompson and they came up with a full advertising campaign, a barrage of interesting, creative ads that helped paint an exciting picture. The picture was along the lines of: "A lot of cars for the money" and "Drive a Mustang, get the girls!" 

Ford Mustang
The key to the early Mustang ads that come from J. Walter Thompson Agency revolved around two important elements, show the car and show the price. $2368.00 was the cost of the car, and that came with a six-cylinder engine, bucket seats, full carpeting, padded instrument panel, all-vinyl upholstery, and full wheel covers. It had the look of luxury at a low base price. White sidewall tires shown were optional.

At the launch of the car and into the first few years of pony car sales, colorful Mustang magazine ads appeared in all the major mainstream publications (Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, and the like) plus every auto magazine that was out there. Looking back, it's hard to say just what total impact these advertisements had in contributing to the total sales figures, as many feel the Mustang was such an easy sell just on the merits of the styling and low price, before options, the game-changing car had. 

Here's a recap of some of the advertising that was published over the years focusing on the Mustang, including some ads that were not generated by Ford but by outside companies that wanted to be associated with the success of the original "Pony Car" that changed the automotive world! 

An early publicity photo shot with a group of teenagers, surfboards, a guitar and the waves of the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop: Youth, fun in the sun and do it in a drop-top Mustang was the message! 
Ford Mustang
"Expect the unexpected" was the theme of this two-page spread, the car displayed had optional white-wall rubber and a vinyl top, which added to the $2368.00 price.

A Poppy Red Mustang convertible was the main image of this two-page magazine spread, continuing with the "get a Mustang and get a girl" subliminal message. This ad also talked about the available high-performance power that was available as optional equipment, the "271-hp solid lifter header-exhaust stormer" plus the Cobra kit bolt-on parts available through the dealer. "You want the four-Weber 343-horse one? Just let us know."

Working with Hugh Hefner and Playboy Magazine in 1964 was an arrangement for Ford Motor Company to supply a "Playboy Pink" hued 1964 1/2 Mustang convertible for Playmate of the Year Donna Michelle, February 1965 issue. The car was a 260-cid version with wire wheel covers, an Accent Group option and a white interior. Whatever happened to this car? It is the mother of all Pink Mustangs ever since. 

The answer to the question "What sort of man reads Playboy" in this 1965 advertisement indicates an owner of a new Ford Mustang, in this case, a hardtop version, Wimbledon White with red interior. When a car is hot in the marketplace everybody wants to join in the fun.

"GT" Performance package came in '65 and this advertisement shows the wooden sports steering wheel, the newly released integral armrests, embossed vinyl upholstery plus the new GT paint stripe, with GT front fender emblem. The Mustang was being offered in different packages for the various buyers out there, which included men and women of all ages, tastes, and desires.

The brochure for '65 promoted optional items as Ford air conditioning, remote-control outside mirror as well as three "sports-blooded V8s" which all were 289-cid in size.

1966 "Sweetheart of the Supermarket Set" ad is obviously geared at the female new car purchasing market, and with all the standard features of the Mustang listed, it's also about sending a message that this is an example of a girl that is as smart as she is pretty. Plus, she earned an "A" in Home Economics!" 

To help portray their line of "wash and wear" wrinkle-resistant Broomsticks slacks as being trendy and with the current times, Glen Oaks from New York featured a new 1965 Mustang in their Playboy Magazine advertising, in addition, they worked with the Ford advertising agency to get a Mustang themselves and give it away to a customer, cross-advertising at its best!

The first of three Mustang-specific print ads strike the modern eye as a quaint "Buy the car and get the girl" idea, but it’s presented in such an over-the-top manner as to be tongue in cheek. In this example, Bernard buys himself a Mustang and soon after wins San Francisco in a card game! We also see the odd moniker of "Mustanger" used to refer to all Mustang owners.

Wolfgang went from a struggling harpsichordist to fame and fortune all because he purchased a Mustang. His traveling companion does look a bit bored with the constant adulation though. The "Mustang! Mustang! Mustang!" slogan in the corner of the ad was in triplicate to add a bit of further pizzazz.

Like the classic 98-pound weakling from the Charles Atlas body-building ads in comic books, Mustanger Desmond is a weak man made stronger in this ad. All Desmond has to do is buy his 289-cubic-inch V8-equipped hardtop! He even trades in his cat for an heiress.

When the fastback version was released, there were publicity photos released showing them in a staged setting on a Gymkhana course, a way to promote the roof design as a "racing" style body shape. The car in the foreground is an early prototype and features the rear taillights (individual triple design) that never made production. 

For the 1965 model year in mid-April Ford released the 2+2 Fastback roof, and the general theme shown here was: A single girl drives a convertible, a father drives a hardtop, and the single guy drives a fastback.

This 1966 print ad shows a boring Public Accountant transforming into a cool dude with the purchase of a new Mustang convertible. "If you've been feeling a bit driven lately, maybe it's time to drive a Mustang '66"

This 1966 advertisement depicts dress-up items available at Ford dealership parts departments, to give Mustangs a racy, "GT" flavor. It was a means to give standard Mustang owners a little more flair (without having to go out and purchase a more expensive Shelby G.T. 350 model). Racing stripes, wood-look steering wheels, Cobra tachometers, Rally Pac gauges, grille-mounted road lamps, styled steel wheels and racing mirrors were among the pieces available.

The famous George Bernard Shaw quote, "Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children" was the tag line for this 1966 ad featuring an elderly couple seated in a convertible Mustang. The message of course was that anybody of any age should buy a Ford Mustang! 

When Firestone debuted their 125-mph rated "Super Sports 500" tires they chose an action shot of a Fastback Mustang with styled steel rally wheels to promote them. The Ford Motor Company and the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company had a long alliance between them going way back to the Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone era.   

In 1966 Tussy Cosmetics in New York had a sweepstake and gave away three new Ford Mustangs to anyone that visited a store that sold the lipstick. Pink Mustangs were not just for Playboy bunnies...

There's no question this product photography from Ford promoting the new 1967 Mustang Fastback 2+2 was geared at the male market, with a certain flavor of "a real man drives a Mustang!"

Showing all three Mustang versions, hardtop, fastback and convertible, this ad shows the cars with small horses alongside and cowboy hats, happy couples. "Bred first...to be first" was directly related to that first came Mustang before the Camaro and Firebird competitors from General Motors.

Sidney goes from dork to making waves with three bathing beauties with his new '68 GT Fastback Mustang. "Only Mustang makes it happen!" The competition from the Chevy Camaro was alive and well during this time so Ford really played up the rear view of their Mustang, as the Chevrolet pony car rival didn't offer that body style.

This 1968 advertisement showcases the available 2-tone hood paint treatment and the three-different body styles. "Get hip to the great transformer: Mustang makes dull people interesting, interesting people absolutely fascinating!"

Big news for 1969 was the Mach I option, shown here with "Cobra Jet" Shaker hood and black-out treatment. The top engine was the 428 Cobra Jet and part of the Mach I package was high-back bucket seating and new wide-belted tires. The body shape of all 1969 Mustang fastbacks featured a built-in rear spoiler.

There was some serious bragging going on in this 1970 ad: "Mustang came out ahead of the pack 5 years ago...and it's stayed out in front ever since. Today, it's still the country's best-selling sporty car." After listing off all the standard and available features of the 1970 models, here's how the ad copy summarized the intended message: "It takes more than good looks to stay number one. You've got to set trends, make changes, and offer more, if you want to stay the best. Only Mustang does it all. And that's a fact."

Even though the rival pony cars were Mustang's real competition (Camaro, Firebird, Cougar, Barracuda, Challenger, Javelin) for some reason there were these billboards showing the new-for-1971 enlarged Mustang Mach I with the headline: "America's challenge to Europe's finest."

A rare version of a 1971 Mustang would be this hardtop "Spring Special" edition, which was fitted with the NACA -type scooped hood, dual racing mirrors, color-keyed front bumper, unique grille with sport lamps and wider than standard tires, fitted with special trim rings to augment the small standard hub caps. To give it a really special appearance, "Boss" tape side stripes were applied. It was an appearance group car, with standard power under the hood.   

This "Anti-Establishment Green" Mustang ad talks about the Mach I and all the standard equipment it comes with plus a long list of Mustang extras. "Move into the 1972 world of Mustang exhilaration and find out what driving is all about."

An optional "Decor Group" as highlighted in this 1972 catalog page, shows a Medium Lime Metallic fastback and a Bright Red convertible, both fitted with the honeycomb black grille and color-keyed front bumper that was part of the package. Note that most ads for the Mustang featured a man and a woman in them as part of the marketing plan.   

An all-new miniature Mustang was released for the 1973 model year (nearly identical 1974-5 versions shown here) and these cars were no longer promoted as being anything like the powerful versions that came before it. In fact, they were more like re-bodied Ford Pintos and even had the small four-lug wheels and Pinto four-cylinder powerplants. Historians look back with disgust, however, these cars did sell extremely well.

A Mach I version came back to the Mustang model lineup by 1975 with 302-cid V8 with available automatic transmission and this 1976 brochure shows a "Stallion Option Group" Bright Yellow-hued example that had the black moldings, black windshield wipers, black lower body, and styled wheels.

This 1983 ad for the "Fox" Mustang, used what FoMoCo called the Fox chassis platform, touted that the car's body was aerodynamic, the convertible version came with a glass-back window and it was power-assisted. Wire wheel covers and whitewalls were used on the featured car, and nothing whatsoever about the car or the ad copy spoke of high-performance. There was a "GT" version for that!  

The 1989 Mustang GT had 225 hp under the hood 5.0L V8 w/ Electronic Fuel Injection and Quadra-Shock suspension under the rear and a transferable 6-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.

For 1990 the Mustang GT again delivered 225 horsepower at 4200-rpm and that year represented the 25th Anniversary of the model, although this advertisement made no mention of the milestone.

The all-new 1994 Mustang was heavily advertised and presented in a fashion where consumers were told it was tied to the original 1964 1/2 models as it had "the same spirit captured in an all-new shape." The actual date of release for the car was December 9, 1993, with a full advertising blitz in all the popular magazines. It retained the center-mounted grille horse and side scoop design, however, the taillight treatment went from vertical to horizontal. It was voted Motor Trend's Car of The Year.

The main image in this 1999 Mustang ad showed a motion shot of a '99 hardtop with a grille photo from an original Mustang inserted as a means of linking the freshly-designed "New Edge" styling theme to the first Mustang. Here's how the ad copy read: "Jake claims his old '64 Mustang GT was so powerful that if he'd jumped on the accelerator hard enough, he could have sheared the rear lugs off. Maybe so. Maybe no. But, in this 1999 Mustang GT, all 260 horses are harnessed to a 3.27:1 rear axle that pours every ounce of power and torque directly into the pavement. Same rebel spirit, but now with advanced firepower."

A tire-smoking 2004 Mustang Mach I comes out screaming in this 40th Anniversary advertisement! "Mustang. The secret of its popularity? From our vantage point of looking back over the past 40 years, it's easy to see. Unlike so many other cars that have come and gone, Mustang remains true to the very day it was born kicking."

The 2013 Boss 302 was described as "the best handling Mustang ever for track-day performance" and the pictured School Bus Yellow-hued model harkened back to the legendary Boss 302 cars from the 1970 Trans-Am racing season. Power comes from a 444-hp 5.0L V8 that delivers peak power at 7,400 RP. The power and handling greatly exceeded the originals.

"If you can dream it, you can build it" was the theme of this pre-2015 Mustang ad, and obviously someone in the design department of the ad agency had a little fun with it! "Built it. Battle it. Earn your stripes and ultimate bragging rights." The website is MustangCustomizer.com .

In fashion and clothing ads the Ford Mustang is a popular background, no matter the particular fashion statement, as in the case of this Kosiuko Advertisement, the classic Mustang makes the perfect photo prop.

Factory art of all the production years 1964 1/2 - 2015 model year, changes through the times but always a sporty 2-door body style with "side scoop" body line, except the very latest model!

Ford Mustang Advertising - 1964 to 2015

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