 Bardahl
Bad Guys - In a takeoff of the popular series DRAGNET, the
advertising firm of Miller, MacKay, Hoeck and Hartung, Inc. created a
tongue-in-cheek black & white animated sixty-second commercial featuring a man
in a black hat and trench coat who mimicked Jack Webb's deadpan vocal style. The
commercial began:
"It was 10:37 when he drove in. Light blue sedan. License
number B6394. Bad shape. He barely made it." [Four pairs of eyes appear amidst
the black smoke coming from under the hood of the car] "I took one look. It was
our old friends...Dirty Sludge, Sticky Valve, Gummy Ring, Blackie Carbon. Only
one thing to do...I called BARDAHL."
The bad guys inevitably cried "Jeez, Let's
beat it!...Its Bardahl!" The end of the commercial even copied Dragnet's anvil
hammer signature closing. In this case, the parody ending featured a large
rubber stamp whose impression read "Sold at better gas stations/garages/new car
dealers." The campaign was sponsored by Bardahl International, Inc. It premiered
in 1953.
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Bardahl Guy |
Blackie Carbon |
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