Never underestimate the power of juice!
Steve McQueen is to blame for everything! Not the victories at Le Mans in 1968 and 1969, it was the film of the same name that etched the Gulf Oil color scheme (actually it is that of J. W. Automotive) into the collective memory. Hardly anything in the classic car cosmos stands for speed and boldness as much as "Pistensaft". What Gulf wears is fast. Whoever wears Gulf is cool.
And so every housewife's Porsche hopes that a little 917; every Sunday driver hopes that a little Michael Delaney will rub off on him. The accessories industry has recognized the power of the brand and hyped it for all it's worth. It's no longer just jackets and caps at classic car fairs. Even things that have nothing remotely to do with cars or motorsport now wear light blue and orange:
- Gulf Oil, the T-shirt
- Gulf Oil, the coloring book
- Gulf Oil, the packed lunch
- Gulf Oil, the cereal flakes
- Gulf Oil, the flamethrower
Nice for those who like it, sure. But as you know, there are two sides to every juice. Because the thing has a side effect that should not be underestimated: trivialization through overpresence. In the meantime, the McQueen Gulf cult has long since turned into its own cliché. Or does anyone here really believe that the fridge, workshop trolley and table football table at J. W. Automotive were once painted exactly like the racing cars?
You could almost believe that the juice from the Gulf pump was some kind of magic potion. Yet the petroleum company itself once asked in its advertisements to keep the ball rolling: "Actually no more powerful than other branded fuels". But since when has what the advertising claims been true? With this in mind: May the juice be with you!
