In 1971, LA based advertising consultant Charles E. Bird started a company called Beetleboards. It was a way for college students to advertise and make money ($20 per month) by driving around with groovy graphic ads on the sides of their VW Beetles. This continued throughout the ’70s, but fizzled out by the ’80s. Which is too bad, because they were awesome!
I remember how envious of VW Beetle owners I was because I REALLY wanted to do this. Unfortunately, as a college student, I drove a huge boat of a 1964 Chevy Impala. And that wasn’t going to make the Beetleboard cut, no matter how much I wanted it.
This Ultra Brite toothpaste ad from the October 1975 issue of Glamour magazine, presented a “How’s Your Love Life?” sweepstakes. Five lucky Grand Prize winners would be given a very special limited-edition Love-Bug decorated by Beetleboards of America. All you had to do was enter (sending two end flaps via snail mail) and brush with Ultra Brite – dynamite taste and more whitener than any leading toothpaste. I’m surprised that I didn’t enter this contest – the entry blank is left intact!
~Marilyn
I'm Marilyn, and I'm obsessed with vintage clothing, thrift stores, clotheslines, and Chanel. Welcome to my down-to-earth world!