Here’s TV and movie comedian Jackie Gleason, star of The Honeymooners, to tell you all about the 1956 Buick Roadmaster.
The quality of this 1956 Buick clip is nothing to brag about (kinescopes can be like that) but the content was too good not to share here. Jackie Gleason was atop the television world in the ’50s with his situation comedy The Honeymooners, and Buick was the presenting sponsor. While the show ran for only 39 episodes in 1955-56, it earned a permanent place in pop culture. Everyone knows Gleason’s catchphrases, including “And away we go!” Another famous TV sitcom a few years later, The Flintstones, was an obvious knockoff in animated form.
And while the images are blurry, the messaging in this spot is crystal clear: Buick Roadmaster is the thoughtful choice for successful, self-assured people who have no need to flaunt their economic status with a flashier car—like oh, say, a Cadillac. While Buick’s upmarket GM sibling isn’t mentioned by name here, it doesn’t need to be named. Every viewer knew what the announcer was talking about.
It’s not a bad argument, either. With its 127-in wheelbase, 322 cubic-inch V8 with 255 hp, and 4,335-lb curb weight, the top-of-the-line Roadmaster was close to Cadillac territory, but priced $1,000 less at $3,692. This was Buick’s carefully crafted brand image for decades: a high-quality, fully-equipped automobile for buyers who found Caddys ostentatious (or a bit too pricey). By the way, the Beverly Hills mansion featured here is Cordhaven, the former estate of E.L. Cord, builder of the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg empire. Video below.
Not quite the fully modular placement of commercials next to a TV show that we later became accustomed to, but more of an arm’s-length treatment than was the norm in the ’50s sole sponsorship era. Of course, there was no way Ralph Kramden could afford a new Buick so that ruled out direct product placement.