I found a Lufthansa TV commercial from 1967 online with a title that gives no real indication of what is to come. To say I was thoroughly surprised and amused is an understatement.
Business travel in the 1960s was largely male dominated and airline advertising reflected that. There was often a focus on the beauty of the stewardesses for one thing, something that wouldn’t fly today.
Lufthansa TV Commercial
Keeping that theme in mind, you can probably guess what might be contained in this one. It runs for one minute and is aimed at the business traveller of the day. Do you see what I see?
Yes, those are actual boobs flying at your face, clearly important things for the 1960s businessman. You certainly wouldn’t see something like this today! Edit: External linking to the video seems to be prohibited, so go to YouTube and search Lufthansa 1967. The one you want is called “Lufthansa Boeing 707-430 Commercial – 1967”.
A Different Era
Contrast that with the the advertising a couple of decades later. Things were quite a bit more boring when the 1980s rolled around, as you can see from the one below. This was produced for the UK market in 1988.
It certainly lacks the panache of the one in the 1960s… but I suppose it reflected the times. You really can get a feel for an era from advertising, I’ve found.
Overall Thoughts
Based on the Lufthansa TV commercial from 1967, Germany seems like a pretty fun place to visit. While the ad would fall foul of goodness knows how many advertising standards today, I think it’s still a really cool thing to see.
Times, attitudes and tastes have changed quite a lot, but these kind of advertisements are a great window into the past. Hopefully more of them will pop up on YouTube or airline inflight entertainment systems.
What do you think of that Lufthansa TV commercial and would it have made you book a ticket? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Sounds like a good place for a single person to do business. Back in the day. I have to give Lufthansa props for trying on the humor front. The commercial is pretty obviously made for Britain since showing it on television in the USA at the time would have lead to tv stations closing.
Agreed. It’s a shame the sound is slightly off, because the “yeah!” in the vocals is actually timed to hit the nude flashes. It’s very creative!