back in the late 60’s early 70’s kool cigarettes were advertising on VW beetles i have a freind (that collects VW’s)about this and he thinks im nutz ive looked all over the internet all i can find is a small reference here and there but no pictures please help me save my reputation hahaha thanks Sid.
I Believe You Are Referring To “Beetle Boards” (Take-Off On Billboards)
People used to let companies paint their entire car and then turn it into a rolling billboard. Kool was one othe more common ones, but I saw several others.
Once the deal was done, the car owner was paid for driving the car with the ads on it. I worked at a VW Dealership at the time. Kool and the other advertisers used us to verify the integrity of the car’s promotions. We had to do a quick check of the car and use our official VW Dealer stamp to mark the owner’s documents. Without that they couldn’t be paid.
These cars were covered in advertising and were real head-turners. The sickening (my opinon) green color of those Kool cars was hard to miss just by itself.
I remember them. I would have loved to get one, but I had to use my car in business and that would not have worked well. The company was called BeetleBoards. I especially liked the Irish Spring one.
im looking for a picture of one of these cars thanks Sid.
Did you ever find one?
Looking for pictures myself…I had one. 1967 Beetle that Kool paid me $500 to plaster their full body decals on much to the mortification of my kids…I taught in the same school they attended but they made me drop them off behind the building.
There were a number of them running around here back in the late 70s/80s and several of them used to have maintenance work done at the VW dealer I worked for at the time.
They did stand out in a crowd, no doubt about it.
Around here (Wash. DC) there are still cars covered in ads.
Small pickups with a giant can of Red Bull on the back.
There are still companies that will pay drivers to put advertisements on their cars. They use the plastic ads now that peel off after. I’ve not done this, but I’ve read that they have conditions that have to be met, such as driving a minimum nimber of miles each month, the age and condition of the vehicle, the vehicle cannot be garaged, etc. The driver needs to file a monthly report.
Bettle Boards:
I do not recall ever seeing them.
But I wanted to buy a VW Bug and paint it orange with black spots to make it look just like a lady bug.
Now one could make it look like a computer mouse.
“I wanted to buy a VW Bug and paint it orange with black spots to make it look just like a lady bug.”
There were a few of those around town back in the 60’s and 70’s.
If you really want to do something different, take a photo of the front and have it made into “wraps” for the sides…so that from the side it looks like the car is coming straight at you.
Double your insurance, or course.
I am 41 years old and I DO remember A Volkswagen that had a Kool cigarette Ad on the sides only.( On the doors, under the rear window on the side of the car, and in the spaces in the fender before the flair over the wheels) It was around 1973. I was almost 2 years old the time. The car was maybe a cool colour blue or green and parked on the corner of 14th avenue and 67th street Brooklyn, New York. The pic ad was of from what I remember a nice decal or silkscreened pic of a waterfall the word “KOOL” in big letters and a large cigarette on the bottom across the runningboards. I have never seen another, and that one stuck out in my mind because of my early love for Volkswagen Beetles, So yes they existed!
I remember seeing lots of these in the Cincinnati area where I was growing up.
Awright, who’s resurrecting these ancient threads?
…and…WHY?
your not nuts, I remember seeing them