Yahoo Autos The Ford Bronco Was the “First Four-Wheel-Drive Sports Car” in TV Ads
We know that Ford is bringing back the Bronco for 2020, but it’s too soon yet to know how Ford is going to advertise it. What seems likely, though, is that Ford won’t pitch it the same way as the company did with the first Bronco, which it introduced way back in 1966.
The Bronco was among the first vehicles of its type and the very first from Ford, which must have presented a challenge to the Mad Men of the time. The whole notion of the sport-utility vehicle had yet to form in the public consciousness, so Ford called the Bronco “the first four-wheel-drive sports car!”
This vintage TV commercial shows the Bronco bashing along trails and splashing through streams-interspersed with plenty of wild-horse imagery (not only did that play to the name, but the company had just launched the most successful new car ever, the Mustang).
What’s particularly cool about this commercial is that it shows all three Bronco body styles. Most prominent is the roadster (“built for fun”), the roofless, doorless challenger to the Jeep CJ. But we also see the “sports utility” model, which looks a lot like a pickup to modern eyes, described as a “do-anything workhorse.” And there’s a brief glimpse of the body style we would today call an SUV, but Ford dubbed the wagon a “family carryall.”
While the new Bronco may not be called a sports car, we wouldn’t mind seeing a roadster version make a return.
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