Video: two rather special car ads

So, who enjoyed the return of Mad Men to British TV last night? Great, wasn’t it? But leaving aside the welcome reappearance of Don, Roger, Joan, copious office alcohol consumption and some rather excellent French singing, how good were the ad breaks?

In an inspired move, the broadcaster decided to forgo the usual contemporary corporate pleas to borrow more money or buy a cheap sofa, and instead ran classic films from the Mad Men era itself.

And hidden among the Fairy Liquid jingles and value handkerchiefs from the local Co-op were two classic examples of car advertising.

The first was the original film for the Citroen DS and its directional headlights, something that even now is only an option from the best manufacturers. In 1968 they must have seemed like space lasers.  

And then there was just one of the wonderful American VW adverts that agency Doyle Dane Bernbach produced in the 1960s and 1970s, ruthlessly and hilariously dedicated to proving how expensive American cars were.  

Predictably, it’s now kicked off an office argument over the best ever car adverts. So watch the two videos, and let us know your nominations for best car ad in the handy space below...