Originally posted by Chris Hafner on Jan. 24, 2008.

While finding the finding the classic commercial for yesterday’s Pontiac Fiero Car Lust, I stumbled across this 1987 Pontiac commercial. I love this ad–not only does it trigger my primal atavistic desire to buy a Pontiac, but future historians could use this clip to sum up the major themes of the late 1980s.

- Metal rock

- Pink and purple backlighting

- Big hair

- Wacky high-fives (0:06)

- Entirely white outfits (0:10)

- Slow, purposeful turns of the head by guys with stubble and bushy hair (0:14)

- Wearing sport jackets with T-shirts (possibly undershirts in this case) (0:17)

- Jumping into a convertible over the door (seriously, why?) (0:23)

- Cars on weirdly-lit moonscapes (0:38)

- Purposeful shifting with driving gloves (three times)

I love how this ad shows off Pontiac’s slickest iron–including the uniquely 1980s monochromatic Grand-Am and the convertible Sunbird. One of the greatest moments is the slow pan over the Sunbird logo. SUNBIRD!

It’s just too bad the Parisienne was discontinued the previous year; it would have been a great addition to this ad.

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