no-frills Road Runner had carved out its own niche in the marketplace.
Pontiac responded with the GTO Judge, an option featuring “The Judge” decals in fonts never before seen on an automobile.
Ford created the Cobra, a stripped-down version of Fairlane and Torino offerings. The Cobra came standard with a 428 Cobra Jet engine and a manual transmission.
Dodge, too, had to adjust its 1968 lineup and offered a budget version of the Coronet with the Super Bee.
The Road Runner shook up the mid-size market, something that hadn’t been done since the 1964 introduction of Pontiac’s GTO.
Production numbers soared to 84,460 units as Road Runners nearly pushed Z-16 Chevrolets (86,307) out of the top sales spot while relegating the GTO to third-place in the mid-size muscle market. The Road Runner most likely outsold the Chevelle SS as the El Camino SS sales numbers were added into Chevrolet’s Z-16 sales figures.
Would Plymouth’s budget-oriented muscle car have been as successful with a name like Lamancha? Unlikely. It took the perfect storm of a second-year body style receiving cosmetic and structural upgrades along with riding the wave that was still cresting from the year before. All of these factors, combined with perhaps the greatest marketing scheme of all-time, helped make the Road Runner perhaps the most iconic symbol of the muscle car era.
What more could Plymouth have accomplished with its Road Runner in 1969? Not much. With F8 Ivy Green Metallic, B5 Blue Fire Metallic, (shown) became the most selected color option. A very successful color on a very successful model. (Roy Diehl Photo)
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL TOOLS
Fred Goeske makes a pass at Irwindale in his 1969 Road Runner Funny Car with Plymouth Dealers Association sponsorship. “Fearles Fred” later won at the Popular Hot Rodding Nationals in his flip-top bird. (Tom West Photo)
With a successful model in place, it was now time to spread its wings and fly the Road Runner into every market possible.
The full-court press that Plymouth put on the buying public and, more specifically, the mid-size muscle car crowd was as impressive as the creation of the Road Runner itself.
Very few cars in the history of transportation had such a marketing component in place as the 1969 Plymouth Road Runner. Gordon Cherry’s vision combined with Jack Smith’s persistence were the reasons the car made it to production, but the black and white decal on the door propelled the car into the sales stratosphere.
Plymouth’s $50,000 agreement with Warner Brothers all but guaranteed that exposure would be the least of their worries. The genius behind the partnership with Warner Brothers was that it offered a character with the car, something the Chevelle SS, Torino Cobra, GTO, 442, GS, and Mopar stable mates GTX, Charger R/T, and Coronet R/T didn’t have. In addition to that, the Road Runner had a horn that went, “Beep-Beep!”
Giving You the Bird
The newly colorized Warner Brothers Road Runner became a mainstay in marketing the cars. Plymouth went all-out and used the character in print, media, and advertising campaigns, putting the cartoon everywhere and anywhere a prospective buyer might glance. The results set an all-time watermark for muscle car sales in the Plymouth division, and Jack Smith finally had the bird appearing on the rear and both sides of the car.
Price Point
Coming off a very successful 1968 campaign that caught competitors off-guard, Plymouth knew that marketing would need to evolve to stay one step ahead of its rivals. One way to do this was to constantly remind buyers that they could join the ranks of Road Runner ownership for under $3,000; less than a GTO or a Chevelle SS.
Options would be sparse, but that wasn’t the point. Running mid-14s bone-stock down the quarter-mile was the point, and for less than $3,000. No other mid-size muscle car could make that claim.
Advertising
Spreading the word consisted of television ads, radio promotions, and billboards, as well as newspaper and magazine advertising.
Commercials
With a deal firmly in place with Warner Brothers, Plymouth was able to capitalize on it by utilizing the car in commercials with both the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote characters.
The television programming cartoon shorts involving the characters featured there were multiple failed attempts to capture the bird. From 1949 to 1966, Warner Brothers aired 40 of these 5- to 7-minute shorts. Typically the Coyote failed to catch the Road Runner six or seven times. Plymouth took a single fail and extended it to 1 minute for TV. The ultimate conclusion was that the Road Runner (bird) needed the Road Runner (car) to thwart capture by Wile E. Coyote. The commercials became so successful that Plymouth used the characters in ads featuring Furys, Belvederes, and Barracudas. Ultimately, the Road Runner’s success attracted potential buyers across all models into Plymouth dealerships.
Illustrated Advertisements
It was only natural to illustrate the Road Runner car in print. Plymouth blurred the lines between the cartoon and the car, almost making it appear as though the car (and not the actual bird), was being chased by the Coyote. Paul Williams designed several of the most colorful and fun ads in automotive history for Plymouth using this method.
Two ads were used to announce the Road Runner as the Car of the Year recipient. One ad was used in conjunction with the A12 showcasing performance characteristics. One was used for the Car of the Year Promotional Kit and another used Plymouth’s newest slogan, “Plymouth Tells It Like It Is.”
Plymouth Tells It Like It Is
Unveiled in February 1969, the new slogan, “Plymouth Tells It Like It Is,” showcased both performance and head-to-head comparisons against other manufacturers. Williams designed the ads with an exaggerated feel reminiscent of those produced by Ed Roth. Also receiving illustrated advertisements were the GTX and ’Cuda with a special collage of cars in one ad called “Motion by Plymouth.”
Magazine Ads
The Road Runner appeared in magazine ads in both photographs and illustrations. The thinking behind this was that by being serious in one respect and not so serious in another, you could cater to a wider audience of potential buyers. Specs, options, and other hard data could be shown in a serious tone while boasting a Car of the Year win could easily be done as an illustration with cartoon companions.
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