Harry Belafonte’s Kids Sing Olds Troféo-ized Version of Dad’s Big Hit, Civilization Collapses

After creating today's Oldsmobile Toronado Troféo Junkyard Find, it becomes my duty to share one of the most brain-scrambling examples of the "What Could GM Have Been Thinking?" genre of car commercials. Yes, it's a version of Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat Song," with "Tro-FE-oh" replacing the famous "DAY-oh," and sung by Belafonte's offspring. Let's study the new lyrics: Troféo, Trofé-oh-oh-oh! It's a new generation and we want a new Olds. Sequential port fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, (?) come and they want a new Olds. Visual Information Center, handles great. This Oldsmobile is not our father's, New generation for the sons and daughters. Trofé-oh-oh-oh! This is the new generation of Oldsmobile. It's hard to figure out what GM had in mind here. If the idea was to pitch the Troféo to younger buyers considering a Detroit alternative to European marques, why use a song that was a hit in 1956? If the idea was to woo Oldmobile's traditional purchaser demographic (i.e., grumpy octogenarians in the Upper Midwest), why use a song by a well-known Civil Rights-era activist and all-around opponent of American foreign policy, who was loathed like Satan by 99 and many more nines percent of grumpy Midwestern octogenarians? Hey, maybe they'll buy a Reatta! Let's check out another Olds ad from the same era featuring equally an equally C-list celebrity. Quick, someone put that marque out of its misery! from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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