Early C1 Corvette Marketing

Part One

As most Corvette aficionados know, the first year for the Corvette was 1953 with a production quantity of only 300.

With such a small production run, there wasn't much need for marketing. There was a brochure (above) but apparently only a limited number were printed. Fortunately good quality reproductions are available.

With so few built, only celebrities and the well connected were able to purchase the new fiberglass wonder.

This presented a public relations problem for GM as the enthusiast community were put off by not getting access to the new sports car. You can see that in the text of a magazine ad for the 1954 Corvette: "In fact so many wanted to drive one that it floored us . . . We simply didn't have the cars. But things are better now, so come on it and we'll put you behind the first Corvette wheel we can."

For the 1956 model year, Chevrolet apparently felt that they had to deal with some negative baggage that the 1953 thru '55 Corvettes carried. That's why they emphasized roll-up windows, manual transmission, hard top and power top availability. The earlier models had inconvenient side curtains for windows and only a few 1955s had manual transmissions.

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1956 Corvette hardtop ad. GM did not offer a hardtop for the 1953 thru '55 Corvettes although they were available on the aftermarket. C1 buyers had the choice of a hardtop or cloth top or, for an extra charge, you could get both. Today, a C1 equipped with both is good for extra $$ in the marketplace.

The new Corvette had become a significant force on the road racing circuit and GM was eager to get the word out. The victories had started to pile up in 1956 and the parts availability and racing support was something to be proud of.

The 1956 and '57 Corvettes were relatively small cars, especially compared to the other domestic offerings. The marketing folks must have thought that was a problem as can be seen in this press photograph. It shows a somewhat exaggerated front view that seems to give it a larger appearance.

If you want a laugh, look up some of the promotional material for British sports cars (Triumph, for example) of the time. They went so far as to put images of tiny people as passengers to make their rather diminutive cars look bigger - sort of a Photoshop illusion but before Photoshop!

This ad I do not understand. It features a cat and seems to be selling the Corvette as a comfortable way to travel. Even the cat seems to be saying "Why and I here?".

Ad Touting the technological advances in the new fuel injected motor. 1957 saw the introduction of mechanical fuel injection for the Corvette and Chevrolet was justified in their pride.

Of all the Corvette ads, this may be my favorite. It certainly is in the top 10. The ad department had some fun pointing out the fact that the supposedly performance ready Italian cars did not offer fuel injection. Below: notice the Ferrari-like competition peeking out jealously from underneath a car cover.

the Tiger-in-a-Tuxedo ad illustrates the dual role that the Corvette provides, even to this day. Words like "elegance", "docile" accompany "full-bore competition".

"Really Old Boy, You Aren't Supposed To Build That Sort Of Thing In America; Y'Know"
The marketing people had started to become aggressive with the competition. This was the start of a series of ads that continued for many years, pointing out that the imports did not entirely own the sports car world.

Chevrolet worked hard at presenting the point that the Corvette was competent at handling the curves as well as straights at speed. In 1957 this could be a hard sell as the general thinking was that Corvettes were mostly drag racers.