ABSTRACT
In 1966, amidst the small car craze fueled by imports and Ford's Mustang, Chrysler Corporation's Dodge Division enjoyed a substantial increase in sales over the previous year. Much of their success in a declining overall market was attributable to the company's outrageous TV ad campaign featuring Pam Austin, a blonde Hollywood actress who fell off cliffs, bridges, airplanes, and roofs in the best spy capers tradition before making her pitch to "join the Dodge rebellion". The Austin ads, developed by the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn agency, were termed "the freshest auto sales pitch at least since Volkswagen started thinking small", according to Business Week. The Dodge Rebellion spots quickly became one of the top-ranking TV commercials of the year and were adapted to radio in short order. In 1967, Dodge embellished its cliff-hanging TV ads and moved the series into the national print media with captions like "Back the attack", "Revolt against kiddy-car compacts" and "Surrender-you're surrounded with luxury".
