Page Dimensions

Approx. 8 1/8" x 10 3/4" (20cm x 27cm)

Story and Details

The 1980s was certainly a vibrant landscape... With the stock market flourishing and disposable income in every direction, social status was determined by luxury goods. While Italian firms mesmerized with their sensuality, Porsche captivated their audience with intensive engineering and raw emotion.

Shortly after being named Ad Age’s Agency of the Year, Fallon McElligott Rice took over advertising for Porsche North America in 1987 (until 1993). In this 6 year stint, the famous Minneapolis based ad firm did some of their best work (certainly in the eyes of today’s passionate Porsche community). The copywriters, art directors and photographers created some of the most memorable print ads that were bound to make you grin, while still staying true to their client’s core values and image. Their black and white ads, with center-aligned headlines in bold sans serif typeface, still resonate today and are especially coveted by Porsche lovers. And although they’re seen all over the Internet and social media - however, often fake - I haven’t found many in the wild over the course of 7 years hunting original ads. That’s because, I think, most were small in size and created for “dealer kits” ultimately to be run in newspapers, regional magazines, and niche publications, such as racing programs or yearbooks. That’s why, I believe, this 1989 “go off by yourself and scream” ad is truly special. It’s not a digital image. It’s certainly not a reproduction. It’s the real deal. Seemingly one of only a few that actually made its way into a magazine, therefore surviving in its original form. It represents the portfolio of Porsche ads the geniuses at Fallon conceived.

And it’s true, this car was something to scream about. The 1989 model year is the most desirable of the already iconic 930 generation of 911 cars as it was the final year of production and was equipped with the G50 5-speed, replacing the previous 4 speed transmission. While it was peak performance at the time, in the 1980s, turbo cars weren’t as refined as they are today. The power delivery more closely resembled an on / off switch that in a 300HP Porsche, reassured you “there’s no faster way to get away from it all”.