The introduction of jet air travel revolutionised the airline industry, as is evident from these Qantas Boeing 707 TV ads. Carriers celebrated the new form of transport and put together advertising campaigns to educate the public.
Compared to aircraft before them, the jets were vibration free, flew higher, faster and reduced travel times markedly. They really did bring the world closer together.
Qantas Boeing 707 TV Commercials
First up, we have a 20 second ad showing the original turbojet Qantas Boeing 707-138. Hailing from 1960, an inordinate amount of time is spent with a big number six up on screen. That’s for six times a week to the United States via Honolulu, you see.
Next, we have a 30 second spot that is dated 1959 on the YouTube video, but would be from 1961 or later. The reason for this is that the turbofan power did not arrive until a couple of years after the straight turbojet versions were introduced.
The third one is dated 1968 and despite the woeful quality, it’s still interesting to see. Having an actor mis-pronounce the airline name is a little bit cheeky.
Finally, there is a presentation lasting a little over two minutes. This is not a TV commercial, but is interesting, even if it is without any sound whatsoever.
The description of the video seems to be what you’d expect a voiceover to say. What makes it particularly intriguing to me is the fact that the cabin shows five abreast seating.
Overall Thoughts
It’s fun seeing these 707 TV presentations. For people who live in a country as isolated as Australia, the introduction of jet travel really made a massive difference to everyone from there.
People still travelled by ship in those days and England was a good six weeks of travel away from Australia. Jets reduced that to hours and today it’s just 24 hours to get from the UK to Australia. Not much has changed in the last 60 odd years.
What do you think of these Qantas 707 TV commercials? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by YSSYguy via Wikimedia Commons.
