Of course the colors and illustration style of this 1964 Mercury Meteor brochure caught my eye, but what caught my attention is that little scene you see up there, where a man and what I assume to be his son are getting ready for what I assume will be some scuba diving, based on the full scuba gear they seem to be wearing. This isn’t just some regular swim – they look to be in full frogman gear, except they’ve yet to put on their flippers, though I’m pretty sure that’s coming next. Whatever they’re about to do, it’s serious stuff, based on the equipment. My real question is, doesn’t that kid look really young for going scuba diving?
Here’s the whole scene:
As a kid owner/operator, I’d say that kid’s size and proportions would make him pretty young, like 5-7 or so, at most. According to what I can find online, it’s normally recommended that kids start scuba diving about the age of 10, though some sources do suggest that younger may be okay. I’m all for it, if the kid’s into it, I’m just saying that kid looks young, and I’m impressed he’s even carrying that oxygen tank.
Also, where’s the water? Is this sand scuba diving? Is that a thing?
Based on a car as big as a whale and the redhead ladies quaff, I assume it is actually the B-52s on the hunt for rock lobsters.
Looks like Race Bannon and Jonny Quest getting ready for another adventure.
Actually, that is no boy. That is Tattoo! Thus the scuba stichk makes more sense.
Too young? It was ’64. That kid flicked what was left of a Camel unfiltered out the back of the breezeway on that big ‘ol red Merc while headed to the scuba launch. And that was after splitting a Budweiser with dear ‘ol Dad along with some eggs and a pork chop for breakfast.
Did the guy sitting on the boat choose his outfit to color coordinate with blue and green stripes of his dinghy?
If the small human is supposed to be a ‘normal size’ child (without being a little person), then the child has to be under 5 for sure. Having 2 ‘normal sized’children myself, so clearly I’m an expert.
I guess scuba diving IS an expensive hobby, so that’s the ‘aspiring life of leisure’ flex one could expect is common for the clientele of their product? What a weird ad
8am PDT and No shitbox showdown!!??
I love this era’s ads, for showing sporty living without SUVs or even station wagons. IIRC correctly, there’s also one with skydivers.
And of course, the ultimate live-action expression of this coolness is in the Thomas Crown Affair when Steve McQueen flies, then lands his glider & is met by his girlfriend on the field in one these convertibles.
It could be a casting call for a spinoff of “Beach Blanket Bingo”, tentatively titled “Scuba Duba Du”, and that might be Billy Barty.
This whole image is just awesome. The strange, underage scuba scene, the pipe-smoking (?) scuba diving womanizer hitting on Gidget in the car, the salty sea captain sitting on the boat, and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys publicly urinating there in the background? Just a big ol’ chef’s kiss to this illustrator.
It is spectacular. For the captain though, the position of his right arm raises a red flag for me. Especially since he is intensely staring at everyone else.
Taking a 3 year old scuba diving has to be one of the worst parenting decisions you can possibly make. Maybe not as bad as letting your child hear Baby Shark, but still really bad.
Did this Meteor turn into the Meteor brand in Canada?
Meteor as a brand predates the Mercury Meteor by quite a bit, it launched in Canada in 1948 for the 1949 model year, then was cancelled for ’62 and ’63 (when Ford Canada tried just selling a new lower priced Mercury model instead), then brought back for ’64 using a combination of Mercury bodies and Ford interiors
Airiness of a convertible? That guy is just telling the woman “I’m an AIRHEAD”
They are clearly getting ready to enter a fetish sex club and yes the kid is too young
Who said anything about a kid? Just two guys doing an equipment check for each other.
“Daaaaaad, you said there would be sand castles.”
“For your sister, son. We’re men here.”
Blue Beetle and his ward prepare for battle.
I suspect it’s that blue strip between the lighthouse and the land yachts.
It looks like they’re planning to take the currently upside-down (and Sgt Pepper-inspired) rowboat out into the water, under the watchful eye of the guy rocking the mustache, capri pants, and captain’s hat. And the boat is smaller than either car, which was the style at the time.
For some reason the text refers to “exciting interior colour [sic] schemes” but later mentions the “glamorous” instrument panel. I wonder how that lone Anglicism sneaked in there.
I don’t remember this episode of the Rusty Venture Show
GO TEAM VENTURE!!!
There does appear to be a pool in the background, with a lifeguard and it’s own lighthouse. Plus a grizzled sea captain sitting on some pylons next to a life ring. Tell me you’ve never been to a beach without telling me you’ve never been to a beach.
My daddy was a prominent frogman
My mama’s in the Naval reserve
When I was young I carried a gun
But I never got the chance to serve, I did not serve
They call me Baby Driver
And once upon a pair of wheels
I hit the road and I’m gone
Here we see Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman ready to go “spelunking” in an unaired episode of Diff’rent Strokes….
I am even more curious about the scuba diver flirting with the woman driving the convertible–is that a cocktail in his hand?
EDIT: Never mind–I just looked again–it’s the rearview mirror. Still a very strange scene.
Don’t drink and dive.
I once went diving with a hangover. Don’t recommend it.
The mirror obscures it, but it does appear to be a cocktail with a straw. Perhaps a screwdriver, given the small amount of orange I see in his hand below the mirror.
I guess it could just be juice, but alcohol seems right for the era and the tone of the ad.
Gotta love the attitude of the woman in pink in the driver’s seat.
“Is that a wet suit you’re wearing, or are you happy to see me?”
No, no, There is a drink that hand. Note the cicular base in the hand, and the straw that isn’t part of the rear view. Hydration is an important part of the mating game.