70's Fender Ad - What Were They Thinking?

[davegardner0]

Recently I subscribed to the CLF Research page on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/clfresearch/
It's run by G&L and they're trying to showcase some of the history behind Leo Fender's career both at G&L and before. They have shown some pretty neat old photos and prototypes!

The other day they posted these early 70's Fender advertisements, which I think are so funny and strange at the same time. The features they talk about are SO not what's popular today. First of all, they actually brag about how thick their finish is! "Fender Thick-Skin", hah. And on the Tele bass ad at least, they never once mention what kind of wood the body is made from. But don't worry you get TWO strap buttons, wow!

Just a different market in a different time, I guess. These ads read pretty oddly today though!

 

[AirCap]

Times and cultures change. You want to see really outrageous claims in ads, go back a century to see companies insult each other's products while pumping their own stuff. Early Gibson ads practically sneered at other makers. The term "flowery prose" was invented for those ads.

 

[swarfrat]

I didnt realize padded gig bags were a thing back then. Even mid 80's the low end was chip board flimsy cases.

 

[davegardner0]

I didnt realize padded gig bags were a thing back then. Even mid 80's the low end was chip board flimsy cases.

I thought the same thing!!

 

[amigarobbo]

Times and cultures change. You want to see really outrageous claims in ads, go back a century to see companies insult each other's products while pumping their own stuff. Early Gibson ads practically sneered at other makers. The term "flowery prose" was invented for those ads.

:icon_scratch:

 

[stratamania]

I remember those Fender ads.

As far as I can remember most Fenders were being sold in cases in the UK at least. So probably the dealers just sold them with case included for the price needed.

 

[Cagey]

I can imagine Fender not wanting to ship overseas without cases. I know I never want to. The voyage is long and rough enough without tempting fate with just a cardboard box and some Styrofoam. I can also imagine the voyage was longer and rougher back in the '60s than it is today.

 

[stratamania]

I can imagine Fender not wanting to ship overseas without cases. I know I never want to. The voyage is long and rough enough without tempting fate with just a cardboard box and some Styrofoam. I can also imagine the voyage was longer and rougher back in the '60s than it is today.

Of course, it is just my recollection based on what I saw at the time.

Nowadays, of course, there are guitars at all sorts of price points, that come in cases, gig bags, cardboard boxes, etc.

 

[Cagey]

Right. In fact, you can get yourself gig-ready for just under $200 at Guitar Center with genuine Fender gear...

You got your guitar, gig bag, tuner, cord, strap, picks, spare vibrato spring (don't leave home without it!), setup tools, instructional disk, and amplifier.

How PRS can stay in business against that kind of competition is a mystery for the ages  :laughing7:

 

[musicispeace]

Right. In fact, you can get yourself gig-ready for just under $200 at Guitar Center with genuine Fender gear...

You got your guitar, gig bag, tuner, cord, strap, picks, spare vibrato spring (don't leave home without it!), setup tools, instructional disk, and amplifier.

How PRS can stay in business against that kind of competition is a mystery for the ages  :laughing7:

Ugh...... Why didn't you guys tell me this five years ago? Could have saved me a bundle.  :laughing7:

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! I know, right? When I think of the thousands of dollars I've spent...

I will say this, though: those starter package deals are one helluva lot nicer than what I could get my paws on back when I was a puppy. That Squire may not be quite up to PRS' standards, but it's definitely playable. I picked one up at a store a couple/few years ago out of curiosity, and was surprised how well it played. A little setup work, and it'd be the perfect 1st guitar for somebody just dipping their toes in the water. The cheap stuff I remember from years ago would put you off the instrument in pretty short order, rather than inspire any follow-through.

 

[AirCap]

I have one of those cheap Squier Strats a client traded me for some used Duncans... The neck on that thing is a little slice of heaven!

 

[aarontunes]

They really like to enumerate things, didn't they?

9 inlaid position markers
9 inlaid side dots
4 pole-pieces
2 strap buttons
20 nickel silver frets
etc...

The "thick skin® high gloss finish" is the clincher. They thought it was so important that they even trademarked the name.

The main thing that always comes to my mind when I see old magazine ads is the sheer amount of text. Some of them had literal paragraphs of text. These days, the less text the better.

 

[Fat Pete]

I used to have the Fender catalogue this is from:

1976 I think - the 'Fender' smoke is a nice touch.

It also featured pages that were cut across the middle with guitars at the top and amps at the bottom, so you could see how they matched up.

 

[aarontunes]

The "Alice" ad is my all-time favorite Fender ad! Love that one!

 

[Cagey]

They really like to enumerate things, didn't they?

9 inlaid position markers
9 inlaid side dots
4 pole-pieces
2 strap buttons
20 nickel silver frets
etc...

The "thick skin® high gloss finish" is the clincher. They thought it was so important that they even trademarked the name.

The main thing that always comes to my mind when I see old magazine ads is the sheer amount of text. Some of them had literal paragraphs of text. These days, the less text the better.

Hehe! Yeah. But, to be fair, that was 100 years before the internet, and information was tough to come by. We're a buncha spoiled brats these days. I can remember as a kid getting catalogs of things or poring over ads until they were memorized, then going back for repeated review in case something struck the brain cells differently. Remember the old Carvin, Mesa-Boogie, and even Warmoth catalogs? We'd study those things like surgeons prepping for our first operation, making sure there was no detail we couldn't justify/dismiss/adapt or at least describe from several different angles.

Or, maybe we were just nerds <grin>

 

[davegardner0]

They really like to enumerate things, didn't they?

9 inlaid position markers
9 inlaid side dots
4 pole-pieces
2 strap buttons
20 nickel silver frets
etc...

The "thick skin® high gloss finish" is the clincher. They thought it was so important that they even trademarked the name.

The main thing that always comes to my mind when I see old magazine ads is the sheer amount of text. Some of them had literal paragraphs of text. These days, the less text the better.

This is absolutely true! Nobody reads the text, people like to look at the photos! And I'd guess the focus on enumeration means either they didn't have anything better to say about the guitars, or the person writing the text wasn't a guitar player.

Either way they should have talked more about those humbuckers! They could have mentioned that those wide range humbuckers were made by the same guy who invented the Gibson humbuckers! (Seth Lover). And they had the unique threaded magnet pole-pieces that I don't think has been replicated since. But they had to talk about the number of side dots in the neck instead, because that's way more exciting...

 

[aarontunes]

They really like to enumerate things, didn't they?

9 inlaid position markers
9 inlaid side dots
4 pole-pieces
2 strap buttons
20 nickel silver frets
etc...

The "thick skin® high gloss finish" is the clincher. They thought it was so important that they even trademarked the name.

The main thing that always comes to my mind when I see old magazine ads is the sheer amount of text. Some of them had literal paragraphs of text. These days, the less text the better.

Hehe! Yeah. But, to be fair, that was 100 years before the internet, and information was tough to come by. We're a buncha spoiled brats these days. I can remember as a kid getting catalogs of things or poring over ads until they were memorized, then going back for repeated review in case something struck the brain cells differently. Remember the old Carvin, Mesa-Boogie, and even Warmoth catalogs? We'd study those things like surgeons prepping for our first operation, making sure there was no detail we couldn't justify/dismiss/adapt or at least describe from several different angles.

Or, maybe we were just nerds <grin>

Yep, different time, different needs, for sure. Back then, there was no where else to turn. You had to get 100% of your info from the printed page, spend your money, then wait....and wait....and wait....to see if you what you actually got was what you expected.

Sort of like Sea Monkeys.

And can you imagine how tough it must have been back then to take a photograph, and have no idea what it looked like until you got it back from Photo Hut and week or two later?

Those poor people....

 

[Cagey]

And can you imagine how tough it must have been back then to take a photograph, and have no idea what it looked like until you got it back from Photo Hut and week or two later? Those poor people....

No kidding. That, and all the cost involved. At one time, I was into photography deep enough to have a fully equipped darkroom where I could develop/print my own stuff, but I never was really satisfied with my work and eventually got into other things. Still, to this day when my camera has 32GB of memory and I can shoot until my trigger finger cramps, I have a tendency to short-shoot things as if I could run out of film, chemistry or paper. Can't tell you how many times I see a series of shots and wonder why in the hell I didn't take more. I mean, they're free fer crissakes!

On the plus side, cameras are so good these days, you often don't need to take 3 dozen shots to get one that's usable. My camera knows a helluva lot more about lighting and photography than I do  :laughing7:

 

[rgand]

On the plus side, cameras are so good these days, you often don't need to take 3 dozen shots to get one that's usable. My camera knows a helluva lot more about lighting and photography than I do  :laughing7:

Not only that, but I always shoot a little wide so I can crop to be just right. My wife has a higher-end digital camera that shoots 15 frames/second. It's like shooting an Uzi. Yeah, we're spoiled. :icon_biggrin: