GM’s Cadillac division was on top of the world in 1958, and the brand’s marketing campaign showed it.     

As we noted in a previous story (“Presenting the 1958 Cadillac,” Sept. 8, 2018) the Cadillac division of General Motors was basking in confidence in 1958. You might even call it arrogance. GM’s luxury brand was outselling all other American premium makes combined (Lincoln, Imperial, and Packard) by several multiples. And while Cadillac trailed well behind the other four GM passenger car brands in total volume, hefty price schedules (starting at double the price of a Chevrolet, roughly) and generous markups ensured that the division remained profitable indeed. In those days, Cadillac’s Clark Street plant in Detroit was its own little kingdom within the vast GM empire.

The extreme air of confidence is more than evident in the spot below, in which Cadillac is presented as “Motordom’s Masterpiece.” Other taglines used in the ’58 marketing campaign included “Out of a brilliant past…a supreme triumph” and “It outsteps its own great traditions.” As usual, the Series 62 and DeVille models were the division’s leading sellers, but the pricey Fleetwood Sixty Special ($6,232) was popular as well, with nearly 13,000 units sold. Video below.