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General Motors Holden – Holden’s Got More Horses (1966)

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'Holden’s got more horses' education content clip 1

Original classification rating: G. This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

A man walks out of a house and gets into his 1966 Holden HR sedan. We see a pack of galloping horses as the narrator describes the 'thundering power’ of the HR’s 145 horsepower engine, new acceleration and twin carburettors. The car climbs a steep, winding country road and the jingle 'Holden’s got more horses’ plays over the soundtrack. The narrator concludes that 'you only have to drive it once to discover nothing else will do’.

Curator’s notes

This ad targets male customers by emphasising the Holden’s thrust, energy and power. Wild running horses, their hooves thundering on the soundtrack, are intercut with the car climbing a hill. This somewhat obvious alignment of horse power and horsepower is the central focus of the ad. The narration highlights the mechanical features which make the 'turbo-smooth’ Holden an appealing product – its X2 engine, twin carburettors and increased compression ratios. Thus the car’s attributes are described in engineering terms rather than through fantasy, as in the Holden HR ad aimed at women (see General Motors Holden – The Time is Now, 1966). Male voices sing the ad’s refrain, 'Holden’s got more horses’, somewhat like the chorus of a Hollywood musical.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows a 1966 black-and-white television advertisement for the General Motors-Holden’s HR sedan. In the clip a man leaves a suburban home and drives an HR sedan in mountainous terrain. The car and road are shown from various angles, intercut with shots of galloping wild horses. The upbeat soundtrack is punctuated by the sound of pounding hooves, and a male chorus sings a jingle with the refrain ‘Holden’s got more horses’. The clip concludes with the graphic ‘Turbo-smooth HOLDEN’. Both the footage and narration extol the optional X2 engine.

Educational value points

  • The advertisement is designed to appeal to a male audience by associating the Holden HR sedan with qualities seen at the time as the prerogative of the male, such as adventurousness and independence. The facts about the car’s engineering components and the images of wild horses position power and performance at the centre of the advertisement’s sales pitch. The escape from the suburban home into an expansive landscape promises freedom and independence.
  • This clip highlights the twin-carburettor X2 145-horsepower engine that was optional for HR sedans and was a major selling point because of its signature ‘turbo-smooth’ power. The high-performance engine was the most powerful Holden model engine released to date, which may have contributed to the HR being one of the highest selling of all Holden series models. Two lower-powered engines were also available for the HR.
  • Holden became established as Australia’s most popular car maker in the 1950s and 60s. This position was built on Holden’s claim of suitability to Australian conditions, post-Second World War developments in transportation, and the rapid growth of suburbia. A loyal customer base and new generation of consumers in the 1960s ensured Holden’s grip on the market remained strong until the mid-1970s, when it faced increased international competition and rising production costs.
  • This advertisement uses rapid montage, a clever script and careful choice of imagery to market the HR. It builds momentum through a driving rhythm and associates the HR’s increased engine capacity with the harnessed power of wild horses. Juxtaposed aerial shots of horses with the HR on the road visually associate the two elements to reinforce the script, which describes the car’s ‘harnessed, controlled, disciplined’, ‘thundering power’.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

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