Accessories from MGA to Z
07/25/2023
A particular attraction of leafing through old magazines lies in the advertisements. In addition to typography and photography, they sometimes fascinate or amuse with the products they offer. But the choice of cars is also interesting if they only serve as a backdrop and are not themselves the subject of the advertisement. For example, the vodka drinker with a way of life climbs out of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, while the Trevira pants wearer prefers to demonstrate their affluence-friendly elasticity in an Opel Rekord. As the selection of car types was already quite large around 1960, it is rare to see a model more than once in a magazine.
But there are exceptions: In the US magazine Road & Track, there seemed to be a cross-agency consensus on the MGA at the end of the 1950s. Within one year, the round roadster was featured in 21 different advertisements - not counting repeats - not one of which promoted the MGA itself. Instead, it was used to sell car radios, luggage racks, trip computers, engine oils, exhaust systems, compressors, additional glove boxes, wooden dashboards, additional chrome trim, wind deflectors, lighters and other useful and less useful accessories to motorists.
Of course, this did not stop MG from adding a couple of self-advertisements for the A in addition to the equipment-optimized ubiquity of its bestseller. Not that the fun-to-drive and race-ready roadster is ultimately only bought for its accessories.
