(UPDATED FROM 78/2024/
Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman’s artwork in Pontiac’s advertising played an important role in the brand’s popularity during the 1960s. Others have done a thorough job of showcasing the team’s most iconic ads (e.g., Niedermeyer, 2015; Stroll, 2015). Thus, rather than duplicating efforts, I would like to offer a caveat about the strengths and weaknesses of illustrations versus photography.
There’s no question that Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman came up with some remarkable illustrations. I made a fake ad from one of my all-time favorites (go here). But even the more subdued image shown below of a 1967 Catalina convertible displays the illustration team’s skills in both showing a car in its most flattering light and telling an interesting story about the people involved.
That said, illustrations weren’t always the best way to present a car. As discussed in an essay about late-60s Chrysler marketing, good-quality photographs could often pick up more nuance than all but the best drawings. This was especially true when a car had subtle design elements. The 1967-72 Pontiac Firebird is a good case study of the trade-offs involved.
How to best showcase a 1967-68 Firebird?
Let’s start by comparing the illustration at the top of this article with the two photographs below. To my eyes the illustration of a 1968 Firebird does a better job of showcasing the car’s front-end design than the two photos below of 1967 convertibles. The key reason why is that the illustration can accentuate how reflected light plays off sheet metal surfaces.
This is not just a function of showing greater contrast in the car’s paint color. Notice how the hood on the illustrated Firebird has a more dynamic range of reflected colors, such as blue and yellow.
In addition, the banner illustration — much like the one below — can capture the reader’s attention through dramatic background colors. Then one may linger in order to figure out what the people are doing.
Although female models were presumably placed in the photos for the benefit of the male gaze, they didn’t visually tell as much of a story as the multiple people in the illustrations.
Illustrations didn’t always get the proportions right
Our second set of images focus more on the Firebird’s side styling. Here the illustrations aren’t nearly as effective as photography in capturing the dynamic visual tension in the 1967-68 Firebird’s profile.
A big part of the problem is that illustrations have a harder time getting the proportions just right. With the big Pontiacs this wasn’t a problem because they were supposed to have an exaggerated lower, longer, wider look.
In contrast, one of the Firebird’s greatest strengths was the subtle interplay between the C-pillar’s arc, the coke-bottle fender shapes and the tires. You can’t capture this design’s exquisite balance when the proportions are distorted — even slightly.
Another advantage that the next two photographs possess over the above illustrations is that they display more contrast. This is mainly a function of the photos’ quality. For example, the first photo benefits by being taken near sunset.
1969 images are a decidedly mixed bag
Illustrations for the 1969 models displayed similar strengths and weaknesses. Below you will find what may very well be the best-executed illustration of a Firebird. Fitzpatrick, who focused on drawing the cars, made the Firebird look better than it did in real life with gorgeous use of contrast and color.
Also see ‘1965-71 Pontiac ads tried to dazzle with hip sophistication’
Meanwhile, Kaufman, who drew the scenery around the car, grabbed the reader’s attention with a blazing sun setting over a beach. The featured couple is presumably about to load the surf board into the Firebird’s roomy trunk and quickly drive home so they can have wild sex. Meanwhile, the scrawny guy on the left ponders if his mom’s Rambler wagon was the best car to carry his surf board to the beach (our fake ad is inspired by this scenario).
Another 1969 illustration that was relatively effective was one that draws the eyes in with a dune buggy race. The dramatic angles and colors served to obscure the less-than-stellar image of the car.
Other 1969 illustrations were less successful. They took a mediocre reskinning of the Firebird and made it look even more so.
Part of the problem with the image below is that the background is relatively uninteresting. That draws attention to the car, which was one of Fitzpatrick’s weaker renderings. Compare that to the photo immediately afterwards, which arguably presented a sportier look.
As usual, the Pontiac brochure’s side-view illustrations were even more problematic.
The photographs used in 1969 Firebird marketing were not always an improvement over the illustrations (at least if the ones I found are any indication). Even so, the photo below arguably used contrast better than the above illustrations.
Some Firebird models simply lent themselves better to photography. I am hard-pressed to imagine how the Trans Am pictured below could have been presented as well with illustrations.
Second-generation Firebird shifts toward photos
The 1970-and-a-half redesign of the Firebird was marked by a greater emphasis on photography in its marketing. However, in the ad below Pontiac used an illustration — albeit in a half-hearted way. The image’s background lacks visual flare and the car itself looks surprisingly amateurish. For example, the wheelbase ahead of the cowl is absurdly long.
This is not to say that the photographs of the 1970 Firebird were always an improvement. As a case in point, the image below does not adequately capture the sensuous curves at the base of the C-pillar.
The photo below does a much better job of showing the Firebird’s subtle curves. By the same token, this photo proves that the 1970 Firebird didn’t need the visual exaggeration of the above-shown illustration to look good.
Pontiac began to experiment with photographs that used special effects. The photo below was also unusual by including two men and a woman. One guy was talking with the woman while the other one looked wistfully at the second Firebird. What was that all about?
For the 1971 model year Pontiac continued to shift to photography. The photo below hints at why — the design nuances of the second-generation Firebird were arguably better captured by the camera than with pen and ink.
That didn’t stop Pontiac from using at least a few illustrations. Below is an ad that has a sort-of interesting background, but the car’s rendering wasn’t so great.
Nineteen-seventy-one was the last year that the Pontiac brochure featured an illustration as the lead image for the Firebird. As usual, the background was eye catching — and this time the car’s rendering was reasonably accurate. Yet it didn’t have quite the crispness of a photograph, both in showing the car as well as the lead characters.
Did shift to photos partly reflect a turn to ‘realism’?
Quality of execution obviously matters for both illustrations and photographs. For example, I suspect that the side-view illustrations shown in this post were not penned by Fitzpatrick because they lack the dynamism of illustrations attributed to him.
That said, I can also see why photographs came to dominate marketing materials during the 1970s. They may have been less flashy than the best Fitzpatrick and Kaufman illustrations, but they looked more accurate. That may have mattered more as the market shifted to smaller cars, whose styling didn’t lend itself as well to the almost inevitably distorted proportions of an illustration.
One might even argue that the societal convulsions of the 1970s contributed to a turning away from the-sky-is-the-limit aspirations of the 1960s to a certain hunkered-down realism.
Whatever the reasons, marketing for the 1967-72 Firebird shows the evolution of an automaker from illustrations to photographs. As gorgeous as Fitzgerald and Kaufman’s work could be, shifting toward realism strikes me as a good move when it came to the Firebird.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on Nov. 22, 2015; updated on Jan. 15, 2021; expanded on March 16, 2022 and July 8, 2024; and updated on July 8, 2026.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Niedermeyer, Paul; 2015. “Legendary Automotive Artist Art Fitzpatrick Dies.” Curbside Classic. Posted Nov. 19.
- Strohl, Daniel; 2015. “Auto advertising artist Art Fitzpatrick dies at 96.” Hemmings. Posted Nov. 20 (link no longer available).
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- autohistorypreservationsociety.org: Pontiac Catalina (1967); Pontiac Firebird (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
- oldcaradvertising.com: Pontiac Firebird (1967; 1968, 1969)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Pontiac Firebird (1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979)
Check out the book Boulevard Photographic by Jim Williams.It describes this firm’s strategy to use “massaged” photography to subtly alter a car’s look in their advertisements. It also displays their creative approach to ad campaigns and messaging.
That sounds like a terrific book. I’ll add it to the wish list. Thank you for the reference.
Fascinating discussion of how auto illustration art moved toward photo-based ad copy. I agree with the many contributing factors you outline, and still especially enjoy the visions of extremely talented illustrators who took artistic license to exaggerate the cars in their most glamorous light and aspirational context.
As photography was more utilized, it seemed to me a double-edged sword. Many better images surely resulted, but perhaps an in effort for ‘expediency’, sometimes you’d see the strange mutation of a marginal photographic base ‘enhanced’ with broadly applied, obvious, and hastily hand-retouched ‘areas’ causing a disturbing incongruity.
Fortunately, as photography and digital editing became more sophisticated, I feel it improved methods and results. It also provided the opportunity (for better or probably worse) for more members of the product team to be invested in the process- as design, advertising, marketing, planning etc. could continuously study and weigh in on views, angle, color, detail and composition from a nearly infinite variety of iterations vs. the linear development of an artist’s individual work. While this seems to dilute the individual artist’s influence, I believe it’s circled back similarly to the level of the illustration days, just with different methods.
The digitally developed ad images and CGI video models we see in motion are still ultimately created and envisioned by the artist’s eye, and presented in their idealized light.
The other thing at play was a shift in marketing to include a more diversity in potential customers. The aspirational country club good life that worked so well from 1959 through around 1967 starts seeming somewhat one dimensional even claustrophobic by 1971. The AF/VK illustrations were wonderful but their effectiveness had run its course.
The Pontiac illustrations were a step-up from photography alone, making the Pontiacs a more exotic / erotic choice. It is interesting to remember that the G.M. stockholder publications featured illustrations over photographs.
The top Firebird photograph looks like she’s pouting because her sugar daddy promised her a Porsche
It used to be difficult and expensive to print photographs in color. Paintings and drawings were cheaper and easier to reproduce, so they were the most common form of illustration.
Open any old magazine and you’ll find only black and white photographs and perhaps a few drawings. The cover was the only part that was printed in color because it was funded by the biggest advertisers, who’d buy three of the four sides (inside front cover; inside back cover; outside back cover).
Improvements in color printing technology reduced the cost of production and improved the sharpness of photographic images, so advertisers gradually moved away from painting and drawing.
In response to photography’s ability to capture details, artistic styles evolved. Realism became unfashionable. Abstract and psychedelic designs were adopted to catch the attention of readers and to fire their imagination in otherworldly dimensions.
The artistry of Fitzpatrick and Kaufman is captivating because it depicts moments in time that won’t be repeated. Advancements in technology, design and fashion have affected the way people see themselves in relation to the world around them.
I was fortunate to witness a Fitzpatrick and Kaufman moment in the summer of 1970, when I was standing on a warm sandy beach in Sydney, Australia. A Canadian-spec 1968 Pontiac Parisienne hardtop gracefully rolled to a stop where the road met the sand. Its green tinted window glass retracted electrically. Inside, a beautiful woman surveyed the waves rolling in from the Pacific Ocean. Then she stepped out of the car wearing only a bikini and sunglasses. I’ll never forget her lithe shapely elegance and the exuberant style of her long low Pontiac.
I am glad we are discussing again the Pontiac evolution of advertizing from paintings to photography. I have stated before that overly fanciful backgrounds can be a little besides the point. BUT the art here serves the Firebird well. The car has the phoenix type mythos so a little bending of reality whether in sheetmetal or other elements – adds greatly to this particular car.
As mentioned the 2 hot younguns loading up the car to leave – while the poor skinny boy in the back can only watch sadly at a distance is telling. But the ”endless summer” content is clear.
The green car photo? with an ordinary suburban house in the background lets others know – the FB is not an esoteric fantasy machine – at least not always.
I think the best is the lone male on the lonely street leaning up against the considerable front portion of the car says it best. Most amusing is the hot dog stand – with all that that implies. Amazing little car the Firebird was – though largely forgotten.
Good automotive photography displays accuracy in its presentation, but well-drawn automotive imagery can do so much more in evoking a feeling. People are hooked on feelings, after which they rationalize why they need to buy. Key point in hooking people to purchase.
The cost of modern photography is so much cheaper these days; this may have been why photography won out in advertising. A pity…
The loss extends beyond automobiles. There once were fantastic illustrators doing advertising for a wealth of products, and magazines were filled with evocative art to go with the stories and articles. Magazines have also gone by the wayside of course. Now that AI is taking over everything, maybe it can draw pretty pictures for the same costs that apply to AI-massaged photography.