Meet the 1956 Continental Mark II, the Ford Motor Company’s finest car, in this low-key film presentation.

It seems TV was used sparingly in the marketing of the Continental Mark II of 1956-57. Instead, the Ford Motor Company relied on other channels to promote its most exclusive product, including a print campaign in the posh coffee-table magazines of the day. That’s why we found this rare television spot for the Mark II so intriguing. It’s put together very much like a magazine ad, with no action photography at all, only beauty shots of a black Mark II coupe in gloroius repose.

We’ve told the story of the Mark II before at Mac’s Motor City Garage (see our features here and here) but in nutshell: The product of a separate Continental division headed by William Clay Ford, the youngest of the three Ford grandsons, the Mark II was intended to be the finest volume-production car the company could make. Some details of the Mark II’s construction methods have been exaggerated over the years by enthusiasts and writers. When all is said and done the car wasn’t truly hand-built in the classic coachbuilt manner, as often suggested, though it did receive far greater attention to build quality than other Ford products.

So here we took note of the actual claims made by the automaker in this presentation, including the “rich fabrics and imported leathers” and “muliple coats of hand-rubbed lacquer.” We also took notice of the final sendoff statement: “The Continental  Mark II—it has no equal. It is simply and beautifully America’s finest car.” Video below.