XD60014c “ MAN TO MAN ” 1958 SINCLAIR REFINING CO. POWER-X HIGH OCTANE GASOLINE PROMO CARTOON

This 1958 color cartoon produced for Sinclair Refining Company, an American oil company, promotes Sinclair Power-X Gasoline, a high octane fuel developed in the 1950s. The film begins with Dino, Sinclair’s green cartoon brontosaurus mascot, introducing himself (0:28). A cartoon TV announcer speaking into a microphone reminds the audience to buy Sinclair Power-X Gasoline. At the corner of Elm and Broad streets, Sam Station, a Sinclair service station, is shown with a red and green Sinclair H-C sign outside (0:50). The speaker, Mac, is shown as a disembodied voice with white eyes and glasses on a black background (1:09). The film cuts to Sam, the station owner, sitting at his desk in a green Sinclair uniform with stacks of paper. Dino smokes a cigar (1:45). Dino rides on a Power-X Mileage magic arrow from the TV studio to Sam’s station (2:27). He points to a red and white Sinclair Power-X pump with the words “THE SUPER FUEL” on it. An arrow with “Pep! Power-X Mileage!” points to the pump. Dino and Sam fly on the magic arrow to Detroit on a blue background with white clouds (2:52). A man sketches a blueprint of a modern high compression engine (3:05). A red car with the engine zooms off the blueprint. 1958 red cartoon cars are shown on a road with 59% overlaid in white text, since 59% of 1958 cars use a premium fuel (3:30). Dino bounces up and down and explains the Sinclair spring advertising campaign, while the TV announcer occasionally interrupts. A person drives a red car while the Sinclair radio announcement plays; only the driver’s hands and legs are shown (4:37). A US map with Sinclair’s marketing territory marked is shown (5:13). A man drives past Sinclair billboards with the message “POWER-X FOR MILEAGE SINCLAIR” (5:32), and the announcer notes 4000 total billboards will appear May through September. The covers of Time, National Geographic, and Newsweek magazines are shown, which have Sinclair conservation ads depicting scenic US places (6:01). The bottom of each ad shows a box for the Sinclair Tour Bureau. The announcer explains that the ads comprise Sinclair’s 50-50 Cooperative Advertising Plan, where Sinclair pays half the cost of newspaper, TV, radio, highway sign, movie, or telephone directory ads. A man stops his car between two Sinclair gas pumps, and a station owner is surrounded by the different ad forms (7:52). Sam and Dino ride the magic arrow back to Sam’s station, now decorated with Sinclair point-of-sale ads emphasizing pep, power, and mileage. The camera zooms in on an arrow for Power-X gas in Day-Glo colors (8:47), H-C poster, and window display as the film explains how to install them on the pump (9:39). The cost of red, white, and green pennants is shown (48 cents per string). Brochures for Sinclair’s Year-Round Direct Mail Advertising Program are shown with a grandfather clock and piggy bank (10:58). The campaign start date, May 1, is shown on a calendar (11:35). The film ends with Dino smoking a cigar and showing Sam’s station.

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