Check out this authentic snapshot of sixties pop culture as the Ford Motor Company’s own musical group, The Going Thing, pitches the Ford lineup for 1969.

It’s true. Ford (and ad agency J. Walter Thompson) assembled a pop group called The Going Thing to promote its marketing theme for 1969, also called “The Going Thing.”  There was even a prime-time TV variety special sponsored by Ford and hosted by the group that starred Donald O’Connor, Lou Rawls, Arte Johnson, and Phyllis Diller. But we’re not going to use up a whole hour of your life with that here; it’s not one of the great moments in television. Instead, we’re going to take a minute to share one of the many commercial spots generated by The Going Thing campaign.

Featured here are the Mustang, Torino, and LTD (“with the spacious and comfortable Ford front room”). The Mustang was sporting all-new sheet metal for ’69 and two new models: the high-performance Mach 1 and the luxury-trimmed Grande. Naturally, both are in the spotlight here.

Incidentally, Ford also had a new president, Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudsen, who shocked the Motor City when he left General Motors in March of 1968 to take the position. He would be gone only 19 months later after losing a power struggle with the powerful Lee Iacocca, And now, here’s The Going Thing to sing, dance, and sell you the 1969 Fords.