Re: IML: Chrysler Pentastar

[Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In a box somewhere I have a publication that was written by the advertising firm that created the Pentastar for Chrysler and there was actually quite a lot of thought and research that went into the adoption of the Pentastar as the new corporate symbol for Chrysler in the 1960's.

It has to do with what is now called "branding."  At that time-- like today-- Chrysler Corp. did not just make automobiles.  They had an aerospace division, a boating division, a company that made air conditioners, a company that made tanks, etc., etc.  I can't remember right now what all they made, but it was a very diverse list.

The point is, every single one of these companies had a different logo and used different styles of lettering, different colors, etc., to identify itself, and the result was the general public had no idea that company A and company Z were all part of the Chrysler family, or Chrysler brand.  So the idea was to take all these different companies and products and bind them together and create one unified concept of "the Chrysler Corporation" in the public's mind.  In other words, when John Q. Public saw the Chrysler logo on an outboard motor he was supposed to think "Oh, that's a Chrysler.  That's made with the same quality and degree of engineering sophistication found in an Imperial . . . or a Saturn 1 booster . . . or an M1 tank," or whatever.  I'm probably not explaining it very well, but the idea behind this was to make the consumer associate certain positive qualities with your product, such as "sturdiness," and to feel that they were getting those qualities, or properties, whenever they purchased a product with your logo on it.

"Engineering excellence" was one of the qualities research had indicated the public already associated with Chrysler, and that is one of the reasons the shape of a pentagon was chosen, because it was sharp-edged and symmetrical and seemed to suggest precision.  (Of course, it also reflected the 5 automotive divisions of Chrysler.)  The color blue was chosen as the corporate color for similar reasons, and they even issued "style manuals" to every Chrysler company to make sure that, not only was the Pentastar used and displayed properly, but that the blue used in signs and on buildings was the exact shade of "Chrysler blue."

In the end, it worked.  You can show a Pentastar to just about anyone in the world and they will say "Chrysler"-- just like if you show them a red square with a swoosh through the middle, they say "Coca Cola," even if the words aren't there.  But it may have had an unintended effect in that it made the Imperial seem like "just another Chrysler."

If I can dig this publication out I will try to scan it and get it posted to the site.  It's really fascinating reading (to me, anyway!).

Mark M

P.S.:

Regarding the emblem on the '69 LeBaron, I don't know any more about it than anyone else has already mentioned, but I find it highly suspect simply because the typeface used does not appear to correspond to any other typeface being used on a Chrysler automobile in 1969 that I can recall, and typefaces were very tightly controlled by designers at that time to be consistent, year to year, model to model (still are).  It appears to me to be from the early 60's, when this kind of typeface was more popular (maybe '63?-- total guess). 


On Friday, November 18, 2005, at 12:12 PM, Douglas Nieblas wrote:

> The Pentastar was adopted by Chrysler in 1963 because the corporate "brains" felt that the Chrysler ribbon was outdated. Also axed was the Plymouth ship in 1959 and the Dodge ram in the mid-fifties. The name Ram was continued on the pick-ups. Though Dodge, Plymouth, and Imperial would adopt other emblems throughout the 60's and 70's, by the 80's the Pentastar was used across the board. Even the 1990's Imperials used an emblem bordered with a pentagon. It was a relief when later in the 90's that Chrysler decided to resurrect their old logos. Unfortunately, Imperial was not around to celebrate the automotive renaissance that followed.
>
> Doug
>
> '58 Crown coupe