Australian
Screen

Clip description

This clip shows a lugger with a haul of shells brought back from the northern waters of Australia near the Coral Sea. A couple on tour in their Holden stop to watch the local islanders sorting the shells on the pier. The couple are escorted over the shallow waters to a nearby coral atoll offshore where they observe the prolific wildlife. The voice-over narration aligns the 'streamlined grace and speed’ of the birds with that of the FJ Holden sedan. The clip ends with a Holden driving along a sandy beach towards the camera and the slogan 'Australia’s Own Car’ on the soundtrack.

Curator’s notes

Recreational travel by road meant covering longer distances on less developed roads. The opening shots by the pier in this clip suggest the Holden-driving couple have made it all the way to Australia’s northern coastline with ease and in style. By placing the Holden in this less familiar Australian landscape, GMH broadened its appeal. Earlier advertisements were confined to suburban and urban contexts with an emphasis on the technological and engineering developments which took place in GMH factories across the country. This advertisement takes the car out of the showroom (see Holden Car Cinema Advertisement: A New Star, the New Holden FE, 1953) and factory onto the edges of Australia’s landscape.

The presence of Coral Sea islanders in a Holden advertisement is probably the last thing that audiences at the time would have expected, but it did show that GMH was interested in extending Holden’s suitability to remote terrain. A direct reference to the car’s 'streamlined grace and speed’ makes its way into the end of the clip in a somewhat loose association with the birds of the coral atoll. But this point was important, because it reminded the viewer that the Holden was both a car built for Australian conditions with the extra feature of dependable design.

The discolouration of the image in this advertisement is an example of heavy colour dye degradation, caused by changes in chemical composition as the film stock ages. The cyan and yellow image dyes have faded, leaving only traces of magenta, which is responsible for the purplish cast. This clip’s colour is already very washed-out; once the dyes have completely broken down, this advertisement will look virtually monochromatic.