While sorting through vintage photos in my collection searching for a specific image, I happen across a 1965 GTO decorated with tiger stripes, a tiger tail, and a sign on the passenger side door that read “Test Drive This Tiger at Delta Pontiac.”
I found this photograph in my collection and it really pressed upon me how far Pontiac was willing to take its tiger-themed marketing campaign of the mid 1960s. Delta Pontiac allowed interested consumers to test drive this Tiger.
I grabbed for my iPhone and quickly Googled “Delta Pontiac.” I found that the dealership was located in Stockton, California. Intrigued by the photo yet needing to locate the image I was originally looking for, I set it aside and forged onward and then went back to that tiger-striped GTO.
I borrowed this image of Delta Pontiac in Stockton, California from the web.
As I stared at the GTO in the black-and-white print, I started thinking about Pontiac’s Tiger-themed marketing campaign, which it heavily promoted during the mid-1960s. It seemingly started with the GTO, quickly expanded into the 2+2, and then became generally associated with all Pontiac models of the era. The Tiger campaign was so impactful that it spawned the attractive “Tiger Gold” exterior finish as well as Royal Pontiac’s GeeTO Tiger drag strip program.
The campaign apparently ended abruptly with the 1967 model year when GM chose to deemphasize performance and Pontiac then launched its “The Great One” campaign.
Pontiac was so entrenched in its tiger-themed marketing campaign for 1965 that it was sending—free-of-charge—tiger-related materials to its dealers.
Pretty confident in its ending point, I then wondered when exactly did Pontiac launch its Tiger-themed campaign? I know that tiger references could be found in Pontiac’s 1964 GTO marketing materials and it not-so-coincidently equipped its new muscle car with U.S. Royal (now Uniroyal) Tiger Paw tires, but were there any tiger-related references in Pontiac literature before that? I decided to take a closer look.
As depicted in this 1963 Tempest ad, I was surprised to find that Pontiac was clearly using tiger references before 1964.
I searched through the various resources that comprise my Pontiac literature collection and reviewed vintage magazine advertisements. As I expected, the Tiger campaign was in full swing during the 1965 and 1966 model years with tiger-striped themes common and even live tigers in print ads as well as television commercials. Both mediums not only included the high-performance GTO and 2+2 models, but I was somewhat surprised to find a tiger-themed ad for the OHC Sprint-6.
Pontiac also marketed its Tempest’s new-for-1963 326-ci V8 options as two- and three-tiger packages,
Then I started looking further back. While I didn’t find any tiger-striped Pontiac ads during 1964 (at least not in my current collection), I did find tiger references that model year. I didn’t immediately find any tiger reference in 1962 model year advertising, but what I found in 1963 truly surprised me.
U.S. Royal (who went on to become Uniroyal) supplied Pontiac’s tiger (the GTO) with its “paws.” This particular ad was dated March 4, 1964.
There, in a color advertisement for the 1963 Tempest was the word “tiger.” And what else did I find? An advertisement for the 1963 Tempest’s new 326-ci which was available in with a basic 2-barrel and the 4-barrel-equipped H.O., each being marketed respectively as “two tiger” and “three tiger” packages. After determining that Pontiac’s earliest tiger references dated back to 1963, when did the tiger-striped theme actually take effect?
The vehicle that U.S. Royal caricatured in its advertising was clearly a ‘64 GTO. It led the tire company to introduce its Tiger Paw line not long after.
It seems that Pontiac initiated the industry trend during the 1964 model by referring to its GTO as its “new tiger.” And when Pontiac teamed with U.S. Royal to equip its tiger with the capable Super Safety 800 tire, U.S. Royal referred to its rubber as “the tiger’s paw.” It seems the earliest advertisements for U.S. Royal’s campaign dates back to first week of March 1964 and in its ads is a cartoon vehicle loosely resembling a tiger-striped GTO. And who can forget Esso’s premium-grade gasoline that “Put a Tiger in Tank,” which seemingly launched in May 1964. While it didn’t include a Pontiac, it seemed there was a natural relation.
In May 1964, Esso launched its famous campaign for its premium grade gasoline. How many Pontiac owners coincidently fed their tigers a steady diet of this fuel?
Yes, 1964 was truly the Year of The Tiger. And it sure seems that Pontiac was again leading the way within the auto industry.
What do you recall of Pontiac’s tiger-themed ads?