The fine petrolheads at Jalopnik have compiled this list of ten very suggestive automotive print ads, from the 1960s onward. It reminds me of a study where men were shown two ads of the same car, one ad with a sexy woman, the other without. The men rated the car with the living hood ornament as more appealing, expensive, and faster than the car without. At the same time, the men vigorously denied that the model’s presence had any affect on their opinion whatsoever.

“Sex sells” may be a cliche, but it’s an impressively enduring and effective one.

“Ten Highly Suggestive Automotive Ads” [Jalopnik]

Carrie McLaren & Jason Torchinsky are coeditors of Ad Nauseam: A Survivor’s Guide to American Consumer Culture. In previous lives, they worked together on the hopelessly obscure and now defunct Stay Free! magazine .

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