The Revolutionary Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper TV Commercials
The Revolutionary Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper – 1968 TV Commercial
Posted On YouTube By: Ron Peters
In this commercial, Paul Richards (a TV actor and Pontiac Spokesman) wearing a white jacket and bow tie walks to the front of the newly redesigned GTO holding a crowbar. He announces. “This is a brand new 1968 Pontiac GTO. It’s been beautifully restyled from bumper to bumper.” Then he turns and starts rapidly smashing the GTO’s front painted rubber bumper with the crowbar. He whacks the sides and the center of the bumper.
Wow! Not a dent or a scratch.
He then looks to the camera and speaks. “This is a brand new 1968 Pontiac GTO. It has a new bumper, it’s the most revolutionary new bumper, since bumper. Seems like, everything those Pontiac Engineers touch turns to great.”
Line Up. 1968 Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper – TV Commercial.
Posted On YouTube By: ChargerDaytona
In this commercial. Men in white lab coats are lined up next to the new 1968 Pontiac GTO. The men are cheering and yelling while they take turns whacking the GTO’s all-new Endura painted front bumper. The men whack the bumper with a crowbar, trying extremely hard to damage it.
Commercial’s Narrator: Every year Motor Trend Magazine evaluates all the new cars before naming it’s car of the year. They look for outstanding styling, great engineering, and ingenuity of design. This year motor trend gave Pontiac the car of the year award for the fourth time. In fact, Pontiac is the only carmaker ever to receive a car of the year award, four times. We suspect the bumper had a lot to do with it. Seems like, everything those Pontiac Engineers touch turns to great…
1968 Pontiac GTO GTO Endura Bumper
The Pontiac Endura Bumper
The Pontiac revolutionary new Endura Bumper was made of closed cell urethane foam, bonded to a steel frame. The Endura bumper was exclusive to the GTO in 1968. The remarkable bumper was very durable. It was resistant to fire, heat, gasoline and acids. The bumpers rubberized foam had the amazing ability of returning to its original shape when bumped or smashed.
More importantly, it gave the designers freedom to create bumpers in new creative shapes. The bumpers can now be blended into the fenders and finished with the car’s paint scheme.
1969 Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper
Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper TV C
Pontiac GTO Endura Bumper Car of the Year
This original 1968 black & white “Bumper” commercial was the first TV spot I ever wrote/conceived, as a copywriter at McManus, John & Adams, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. They continued to use the same concept in similar commercials at least through 1972. The actor was Paul Richards, a popular TV actor at the time, who we used as Pontiac’s spokesman for some time, because of his forceful personality and steely gaze. My creative director was Ron Monchalk. –Bob Monement, Sr.