Long before any car becomes a classic, it was a new car, and the advertisements dreamed up by the Mad Men usually proclaim every new car to be the latest and greatest. In the case of the 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300SD Turbodiesel, profiled earlier today, the advertising did it with far more justification than most.
Mercedes-Benz advertisements from the 1960s through the 1980s were lengthy, uber-technical treatises that blended arrays of facts and detailed statistics (“turbocharging this Diesel engine boosts maximum power by 43 percent – and maximum torque by a lusty 46 percent,” “It is less than 18 feet long, needs a mere 2.7 turns of the steering wheel lock-to-lock, and whips around within a turning circle of 38 feet”), company legends in some way relevant to the featured car (the 300SD sharing an engine “barely differ[ing] in design and major components” from that of the record-setting C-111/3 experimental vehicle, ignoring that the C-111/3 engine was modified to produce twice the horsepower), and relentless logic explaining the car’s engineering superiority. Instead of ending with the tagline “Engineered like no other car in the world,” they politely and intelligently rammed the message into the reader’s head for an entire page. The campaign originated at the advertising firm of Ogilvy & Mather, then followed its creator David McCall to his own firm, McCaffrey & McCall.
In the case of the 1978 Mercedes-Benz 300SD Turbodiesel, the copy on the second page of the ad had impressive facts to boast. The 300SD, new for 1978, was indeed the first turbodiesel passenger car, and its claimed 0-60 time of 12.7 seconds was quite respectable for a large sedan during the late 1970s and a quantum leap improved over any previous diesel car. The connection to the C-111/3 experimental vehicle and its ability to drive at an average speed of 195.4 miles per hour for 12 hours was tenuous, but using “the same basic turbocharged Diesel engine” (as stated in the fine print) made for an impressive group photo and several paragraphs of eye-popping statistics. Viewed 35 years later, it is a reminder that a car that is now a classic with old-fashioned engineering was once on the leading edge of automotive technology.
This reminds me of some of Packard’s final printed pieces. In 1955-56, there were some pieces of lit printed that went into great mechanical detail about how well engineered the car was. Unfortunately, there was very little about how beautiful it would make the buyer’s wife look, which had become a Cadillac specialty.
I miss ads like this that talk to potential buyers as though they have some intelligence. Even those who don’t can at least pretend.
These Mercedes ads must have been a revelation during the 1960s, after decades of Cadillac ads that showed wealthy-looking people with Cadillacs, without much information about the car itself except for breathless ad copy filled mostly with hyperbole. Mercedes’ ads probably brought a lot of people to the showroom to learn more, leading to more sales. Although I was not alive then, so I can’t do more than speculate.
An even greater contrast is between Mercedes’ 1960s-80s print ads, and the 2013 YouTube video ad that showed Kate Upton jiggling in the general vicinity of a Mercedes. It generated a lot of national media attention, but I doubt that it made anyone think about buying a Mercedes. (Anyone who reacted that way needs to get his head examined!) I wonder if there is anyone at MB-USA’s marketing department today who remembers their old approach.
I have an 87 300SDL that was my daily driver for years until I replaced it. Because it has been well maintained I have kept it (150,000 miles). The advantages my car has over the one pictured are: power seats, power steering column, self adjusting valves, more comfortable ride and faster. The advantage the bodystyle in the photo has over my car is it is 100 times more handsome.
Mercedes did not put a diesel engine in the US market S-Class after 1987 until 1991-1995. They were well known for catastrophic engine failure that turned them into salvage value cars early in life. My best friend bought a new 1991 SDL which while under warranty had the engine rebuilt once and a complete engine replacement (out of the crate) before 20,000 miles. I always liked the mid 1990’s next generation bodystyle but out of five friends who owned the 91-95 SDL’s all five experienced catastrophic engine failure, which eliminated me from having the guts to own one used. There was a big push on in the Mercedes forums during the mid 1990’s for a class action lawsuit concerning these cars. Mercedes did nothing to help the owners. I have a 1997 E-Class diesel which was my last Mercedes purchase due to the way Mercedes denied doing anything for the S-Class owners I knew. I defected to the Lexus camp and have never looked back.
The car in the photo of this article was the last really handsome S-Class, in my opinion. The 6.9 in this 116 bodystyle is awesome!
I think appeals to rationality seen in car ads from the early ’70s-early ’90s were popular with a number of automakers and, in my understanding, represented a more progressive period in history. In a competitive market where purchases were not always made out of necessity, ads went beyond appealing to passion and style and gave their products a veneer of virtue. These days, it’s all about fashion and being “cool,” which is similar to midcentury “keep up with the Joneses” advertisements, but more pretentious.
You don’t see ads like the following from 1992 very much anymore:
True. That goes against 99% of the American car buyer’s way of thinking. I have never understood why buyers were not more interested in safety than they are. Instead it seems to be all about bling at the lowest price.
Because safety isn’t sexy, there really is only so much safety you can sell in a car, all cars today are pretty safe. I like seatbelts and airbags, but I really don’t need an isolation tank mommy mobile from the nanny state.
Now that we are in the day of texting and driving I am more interested than every in a car’s crash test results. All cars today are NOT pretty safe. If not for the nanny state you would not have seat belts much less airbags.
I used to read and admire all these erudite car ads in magazines as a kid in the 70s-80s. I was recently wondering why they weren’t around anymore — it’s sad that advertising has become so dumbed-down and short-attention-span rather than something that engages the intellect.
The Mercedes vertical-wall test track in Stuttgart featured in a lot of their advertising from that era.
http://www.motortrend.com/av/features/112_0809_ultimate_challenger_road_trip_day_3/
I’m driving a 280SE w116 at the moment. I bought it as an ‘in between’ car because prices are in a trough. The car is a revelation. It is so well built compared with the Italian, British and Australian metal I’ve previously owned. The styling can be described as ‘pedestrian- friendly brutalism’.
The key element to this ad is the banked track. Look at MB ads from the late sixties onwards and you will invariably find a saloon or coupe riding the curve. Industry leading authority was never better advertised. MB still do some nice stuff;
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nLwML2PagbY&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DnLwML2PagbY
The difference between then and now is the Schumacher tunnel ad would have been done for real.
I miss the ads with the guys in white lab coats carrying clipboards. It was a different world and the ads reflect it. Your 116 has much better build quality than my 126 and 210 bodied cars.
I like the 126. Too much electronics for me though. Here in Australia we didn’t get the SD, but there are a few 123 300D and TD still smogging around.
I have a couple Mercedes ads from the early 60s that are short on technical info but big on gushing stuff like “discover the zest of motoring behind the three-pointed silver star” and “Mercedes-Benz is the car of people of state and stateliness” They really pushed European delivery too.
It seems like the mid 70s is when they moved to this type of ad.
These ads started in 1967, I believe. The earliest that I have seen was from 1967. There may have been some that were earlier, but I have not seen them or any references to them. I cannot say for sure whether these ads became the only style used for MB ads immediately or later during the 1970s, though.
I wish I had the image from this ad as a poster to hang on the wall!
If you find an old black and white ad in a magazine such as National Geographic, blow it up on a non colour photocopier to about 11″ x17″ (I dont know US paper scales – about twice US letter size). Find a photocopy print business with a large (about 40″x 30″) black and white photocopier that architects use, and get the 11×17 blown up. The dot screen should hold and you get a really nice big poster for about $7.
Tengo un mercedes benz turbo diesel 300sd de 1978 , me gustaria en este momento saber cual es su precio,quien me lo puede valuar ya que lo quiero vender, tambien si alguien sabe cual es su rendimiento ya que no le pongo cuidado a eso,saludos y gracias.