John Hubley, TV CommercialsApril 28, 2006 10:37 am
I’m not sure what aggravates me more: that oil companies are so openly and blatantly gouging the American public or that oil companies no longer make cool animated commercials, like this Speedway 79 spot from 1955. The commercial was produced at John Hubley’s studio Storyboard and I think one of the animators was Emery Hawkins, though it doesn’t look like he handled the entire commercial. The familiar tune is based on the old spiritual “Dem Bones.” Watch the spot below.
WOW! I don’t know what to say-
that’s terribly fun and really appealing–just beautiful designs, texture and timing.
Comment by nick sung — April 28, 2006 @ 11:26 am
So cool!!! I absolutely LOVE the Miro flavor. Intelligent while amusing! BTW, does anyone here know where Pintoff’s FLEBUS can be viewed on-line….or any of his works for that matter?
Comment by Elmore Pumares — April 28, 2006 @ 1:13 pm
TV Land used to run another Speedway commerical: “Everybody’s talking about the power of Speedway/Everybody’s talking about Speedway Gas” Great commericals- made it seem so much fun to go and fill up the tank..
Comment by Jeff Boice — April 30, 2006 @ 4:25 am
Elmore - FLEBUS isn’t available online. It’s owned by Viacom and I doubt they intend to give it an official release anytime soon.
Jeff - That Speedway spot was also produced at Hubley’s studio Storyboard. I agree, it’s another incredible spot!
Comment by Amid — April 30, 2006 @ 7:45 am
Boy, I never realized how fun fuel could be!
Comment by Marc Deckter — April 30, 2006 @ 11:51 am
Wonderful! Back then, the advertising biz was new and there were fewer people in the hierarchy. That meant fewer chefs mucking about with the soup. And that meant animations like this one could pass through without someone saying ‘uh, the sparkplug doesn’t actually connect that way, could you show a more accurate version of…” And on and on until the horse became a camel.
-E
Comment by Elwood H. Smith — May 1, 2006 @ 10:29 am
Man, that’s one minute of absolute greatness!
Comment by woodrow phoenix — May 1, 2006 @ 12:45 pm
El combustible moderno
Publicidad Speedway 79 Power Fuel (1955)
Es una lstima que hayamos perdido la inocencia y ya no se pueda hacer este tipo de publicidad. El Automvil, el Progreso. Los Carburantes del Capitalismo.
Va: Cartoon Modern
Trackback by aventuraspez — May 8, 2006 @ 3:34 pm
Wow! Please, more on the Speedway commercial! In my opinion the best use of the flat style was in commercials like this. Also, I’m delighted to hear that you’re publishing something on John Sibley. Sibley is one of the greatest animators ever and no one knows his name now. Where can I buy a copy of Blast?
-Eddie Fitzgerald
Comment by Eddie Fitzgerald — May 9, 2006 @ 12:08 pm
Stupid question: Is there a reason this one minute commercial actually clocks in just over 1:00? Just wondering.
Great stuff. Been lurking here on and off for a while…
Comment by Kevin Wolf — May 15, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
Eddie - The Blast will be available at all the typical LA comic stores like House of Secrets in Burbank, and Meltdown and Golden Apple. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the Sibley piece because I know you’re a big fan. I remember the day the Goofy Treasures dvd came out and we went to Dave’s at lunch (with Jim and Henry, I think) so you could pick up the dvd.
Kevin - I’m assuming they just trimmed from the front and end of the film to get it to 1 minute. Or maybe they let it run for an extra second or two. A lot of the 1 minute commercials I’ve seen from that era aren’t exact, but have an extra second or two. Maybe they were considered ok as long as they were within a couple seconds.
Comment by Amid — May 18, 2006 @ 8:07 am
Say, where’d the link go? I never had the chance to check it out…. RATS!
Comment by Ward — June 22, 2006 @ 10:11 pm