They’re still pretty cool, even by today’s standards.
Of all the car brands out there, Porsche is one with some of the most swagger. Yes, if you’re a really critical person you can pick apart the German brand, but when you step back and look at the big picture, Porsches are iconic cars. That’s what makes this look back at Porsche television commercials from 1983 so fun.
The first thing which really sticks out is that the company fully understood the influence motorsports victories have on consumer car sales. In the first and second commercials, Porsche makes it clear that its racing experience helps it to make better vehicles, like the Porsche 911. Viewers are reminded of the company’s successes in all kinds of races at tracks like Sebring and Daytona, plus the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally.
Clearly, the messaging in the first two commercials was that Porsche cars pack race-proven designs, so you get a more exciting ride. It’s not a bad message to spread, and certainly that along with delivering what was promised helped Porsche gain quite a few loyal fans.
The final commercial really highlights the brand’s lineup for the time. 1983 was an interesting time for Porsche. The venerable Porsche 911 was in the middle of the G Series era, which lasted through 1989, but the North American market had been without the raucous Porsche 911 Turbo model starting in 1980. Then there were the Porsche 924 and Porsche 928, cars which offended purists with a front-engine layout and water cooling. Yet Porsche was able to put these three models together in a TV spot and make it all look cool with the tagline “Porsche: nothing even comes close.” It probably couldn’t pull that off today.
Underneath the polish of each commercial is a wit to these commercials, which is quite well-suited for Porsche. After all, the company’s signature car is essentially a hopped-up version of the Volkswagen Beetle. That’s not meant as a criticism of the 911, but instead as a compliment to an automaker which could take a simple design and perfect it over time to become one of the most iconic GTs to ever grace the road or track. That the advertisements would portray that same level of spryness is pure genius.
