Who knew? It turns out Mickey Mouse was a Nash man all the way. Check out these vintage commercial spots starring America’s most beloved rodent as he sells the Nash model line for 1955. 

The Walt DIsney Company and the Nash division of American Motors enjoyed a brief but productive partnership in the 1950s. Nash served as the sponsor of Walt Disney’s Disneyland, later renamed The Wonderful World of Disney, when the popular family television program debuted on ABC in October of 1954. Meanwhile, Disney produced a whole series of television commercials for Nash featuring the studio’s beloved cartoon characters, including Jiminy Cricket, Br’er Rabbit, and shown here in a three-commercial medley, Mickey Mouse himself. This Mickey—with wife Minnie and two children—is a stylized, mid-century modern version of the character designed by Disney artist Tom Oreb for these commercials and never used anywhere else.

The 1955 model year saw a number of changes for Nash. The merger between Nash and Hudson that created American Motors was officially accomplished in April of 1954, and the 1955 Nash models were unveiled in November ’54. Total domestic production topped 96,000 units as the compact Rambler line accounted for the bulk of Nash sales. The big Ambassador, a solid competitor in the Oldsmobile-DeSoto range, was offered with a Packard-built 320 CID V8 boasting up to 220 hp, while the innovative Nash integrated air conditioning system was available across the line. But hey, we should let Mickey tell the story. Video below.