With all the attention Ford is getting with its new Bronco, the Video of the Day explores the marketing roots of the massively popular SUV.
The introductory ad for the 1966 Bronco opens with a scene of rodeo bronc riding, then cuts to the Jeep-like doorless Bronco U13 Roadster being thrashed off road in rough Western country.
Bronco is proclaimed as the “first 4-wheel-drive sports car!” Besides the Roadster model, which was not a major seller and soon discontinued, there is the debut of the Sport Utility short-bed pickup, “a do-anything workhorse,” and the familiar, best-selling Wagon.
While the dramatic intonations of the overly enthusiastic announcer sound hackneyed today, it did much to drum up interest in what would become a strong entry for Ford.
The off-roading action is pretty spectacular as well, and certainly got the juices flowing for back-country adventure that translated into showroom sales.
