Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This colour clip shows the introductory part of a 1968 television advertisement for the Holden HK Monaro two-door sports coupé. The clip begins with scenes of formula and production car races, pit action, drivers and female fans. Over an instrumental soundtrack, a male narrator describes ‘today’s world’ and ‘today’s people’. This is followed by a still-image montage of sophisticated people. The narrator says that – until now – people who desire sports cars have avoided them because of the expense and inconvenience of buying and repairing them.

Educational value points

• This clip marks an expansion in Holden’s advertising to embrace the emerging younger generation while still appealing to the post-Second World War suburban family, Holden’s main consumer base. The 1968 HK range was marketed as a ‘new generation’ of Holden cars, celebrating 20 successful years of manufacturing Australian cars. The ‘forward-looking’, ‘dynamic’ market is catered for, as is the market that still values ‘round-town practicality’.

• The clip appeals to an affluent 1960s audience (particularly men with money to spend) by using imagery evoking an idealised lifestyle that consumers could aspire to, including beautiful people and products. The consumer is portrayed as youthful, independent and sophisticated. By both identifying and prescribing the needs and desires of its target market, the advertisement presents the Premier as more than just a car; it depicts the Premier as an expression of the consumer’s individuality.

• This clip shows an advertisement that cleverly creates its own niche for a product that can replace the standard Australian family car, be a personalised accessory and perform like a production car for a reasonable price. The commanding narration and images create desire for a car that embodies excitement, style and individuality. It positions a locally made, affordable sports coupé as the answer to a gap in the market. The coupé (the HK Monaro) is not shown or named in this section of the advertisement.

• The now iconic Monaro was the first locally designed, engineered and built two-door sports coupé in Australia. This clip contrasts the Monaro’s local production and moderate cost with expensive European sports and luxury cars (including the Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo) to exploit Holden’s established reputation as a proudly Australian product and to capitalise on the growing international popularity of two-door sports coupés.

• This clip uses the atmosphere and imagery of the production car racetrack to build momentum and create excitement about the release of the Monaro. There has been a strong association between the automotive industry and sport, particularly motor sport, since the 1930s. In the 1960s and 70s Holden became involved in high-profile production car racing, most memorably in 1970 when Norm Beechey won the Australian Touring Car Championship in a Monaro GTS 350.

• While the Monaro was marketed to both male and female drivers, especially in print, this advertisement positions men as the active drivers and the women as spectators or passengers, reinforcing stereotypes about gender roles. The 1960s was a time when traditional roles as seen in this clip were being seriously questioned, particularly by women, leading to significant social and cultural change in the decade to follow.