Re: IML: Chrysler Pentastar

[RandalPark@xxxxxxx]

As I recall, the T.V. advertising at the time stated that it stood for the five lines of vehicles and listed them as:

Plymouth
Dodge
Chrysler
Imperial
And
Dodge Trucks

I recently ran across an advertisement for 1965 showing the Pentastar, the 5 year/50,000 mile warranty, and the small picture of a vehicle from each line, each with a connecting line to one section of the star.

I don't think that this is very different from the other things posted, but it does describe what I remember from the ads.

Paul W.

In an email dated Sat, 19 11 2005 5:24:26 am GMT, "Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

>
>Your memory serves you right, except for "Of course, it also reflected the 5
>automotive divisions of Chrysler." ? The whole idea of adopting the
>pentastar was to expand the public's knowledge of Chrysler beyond the
>rubber-wheeled divisions. ? Besides, Chrysler has NEVER had 5 automotive
>divisions. ?When the pentastar was approved in late 1962, there were but two
>automotive divisons- Chrysler-Plymouth and Dodge.
>
>The DeSoto division disappeared in 1959 when it was merged with the Plymouth
>Division. ?Then the Plymouth-DeSoto Divsion was merged with the
>Chrysler-Imperial Division to form the Chrysler-Plymouth Division after the
>DeSoto was dropped.
>
>Like it or not, but the Imperial Division existed only on paper - it was the
>brainchild of the marketing department. ?Which is part of the reason
>Chrysler was never able to completely separate the Imperial from the
>Chrysler. ?If you check the list of divisions and corporate excecutives of
>the Chrysler Corporation over the years, you will not find any mention of an
>Imperial Division. ?All designing, engineeering and marketing of the
>Imperial automobile fell under the Chrysler Division (1955-1959),
>Chrysler-Imperial Division (1959-1960) and Chrysler-Plymouth Division
>(1960-1975). ? ?You will find Imperial Division only on advertising items,
>etc.
>
>One other important aspect of the pentastar is that it looks correct even if
>it is looked at upside down or on the reverse. ?Which makes it perfect for
>rotating signs, etc. ? In the 1960's Chrysler's pentastar became as well
>known and noticed as Howard Johnson's roof.
>
>Bill
>Vancouver, BC
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: Mark McDonald
>To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 7:30 PM
>Subject: Re: IML: Chrysler Pentastar
>
>
>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
>
>
>
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