The spectacular Pan Am 747 is the co-star in this marketing spot for the 1970 Ford Thunderbird line. Fasten your seat belts and join us.
Throughout its half-century history, the Ford Thunderbird was a shape-shifter, constantly changing its identity to suit the Motor Company’s evolving needs. Launched in 1955 as a two-seat sports roadster, by 1970 the T-bird had become the luxury flagship of the Ford division. There was no longer a convertible in the Thunderbird lineup, but there was a four-door. Since production volume was relatively limited, the fifth-generation ’67-’71 ‘Birds reverted to body-on-frame construction to facilitate platform sharing with the Lincoln division’s Continental Mark II.
For the 1970 model year, the Thunderbird received a memorable new styling element: a bold, pointed nose that Ford stylists called the “Bunkie beak” in tribute to Ford president Bunkie Knudsen, who favored the dramatic look. A number of FoMoCo products sprouted Bunkie beaks during his brief time at the helm. An up-to-date 429 CID V8 provided plenty of go, while Ford piled in all the luxury and convenience features in the catalog. Sales that year amounted to more than 50,000 units, a comfortable distance ahead of Riviera, Toronado, and Eldorado.
Flight was a frequent trope in the company’s Thunderbird messaging over the years, naturally enough, and for the 1970 campaign Ford brought in the grandest bird then in existence: the Boeing 747 airliner, the wonder of the age. In this spot, a Pan Am 747 appears with a lineup of Thunderbirds to signify power, prestige, and luxury. Now that’s a statement. Video below.
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I thought I’d be flying Pan Am to the Moon by now. I guess I still have a chance as long as Mr. Musk hasn’t been institutionalized.
You forgot to mention that Bunkie had been head of Pontiac for many years, including the 1960s when Pontiacs grew their prominent signature “V” noses…
With only a few hundred words available, we forget to mention a lot of things.
A yacht might have been as good a background, those cars were huge!
Funny thing, both the T Bird and Pan Am are extinct. As are those stewardess uniforms.
T Birds from 1967 until 97 are rarely seen anymore, guess they went to the crusher. They probably had the longest hoods ever put on a Ford. The 55 to 66 models have a pretty good following, and I still see a few of the last generation two seaters every once in a while.