My first car was a 1970 Volkswagen Beetle. As far as first cars go, it was a pretty good one. This morning, I was looking back through some old pictures, and it got me thinking back to that old car of mine. And that reminded me of something that I wanted to do with that old bug, but never got the chance. I wanted to turn it into a Beetleboard.
If you were around in the 70’s and 80’s you might remember them. Companies would pay Volkswagen drivers to paint their cars with advertising logos. I’m told that they were most popular in California, but by the late 70’s there were a few around my home in Virginia Breach, VA.
In the summer of 1979 right before I headed out to college (I believe that was the year) I actually attended a meeting to see about turning my VW into a Beetleboard. Sadly, the only opportunities that they had at the time was to advertise Kool cigarettes, and since I was a minor and didn’t smoke cigarettes, that wasn’t an option.
Today, seeing vehicles covered with advertising isn’t much of an oddity. Thanks to technology and the advent of vehicle wrapping you can see mobile billboard in nearly every city.
I did a quick Google search to see if I could find anything about the old Beetleboards, and sadly there wasn’t much info about them anywhere on the web. I did see a couple of forum posts mentioning a company called Beetleboards of America that painted VW’s back in the 70’s and even found a couple of foreign blogs that focused on Volkswagen’s. Both of the foreign blogs had an old print ad for Ultra Brite toothpaste that was promoting a VW giveaway. The featured Beetle was painted up in Beetleboard style.
The only other Beetleboard image I could find on the net, looked to be taken from some 1970’s magazine. And from looking at the picture, it was probably came from a story talking about the guy (below) who invented Beetleboards. That’s just my guess, but any info that you might come up with would be appreciated.
No matter what, the old black an white picture of the Levi’s For The Feet and Kool Cigarettes Beetleboards are pretty cool! The Kool Beetleboard might even be what my old VW would have looked like if I had been interested in promoting cigarettes. Make sure to click on all of the pictures to see the full size images.
Ah, the good old days!
I was a Beetleboard! I did both Kool cigarettes and BelAir cigarettes. It was a great additional income. I was just thinking about it and was wondering if the company was still around. When I did a search your column came up.
Denice, that is so cool! Do you have any pictures of your old Beetleboards?
In 73-75 I my 7th grade math teacher Cedric Paine (Boston area) had a “Clairol Herbal Essence” beetleboard car. I contacted him about it recently and he told me that at the time he didn’t own a camera! It was so cool I can’t imagine that if you had one you wouldn’t take a photo of it!
Gosh, Beav, for something so nifty it sure is surprising how little coverage upon the Web there is about that particularly tasty cultural phenomena.
Yer’ right, Wally. What’s a “cultural phemonena”?
I came across your blog entry while searching for a Levi’s beetleboard picture. Believe it or not, that was my dream car when I was 16. The picture I had, had the car painted denim blue, with orange “stitching” and the read Levi’s label. I never did get one. This blog entry is the ONLY reference I can find online to the whole beetle board phenomena.
I represented Beetleboards of America in Hawaii back in the mid-70s. Recruited, got cars painted, put on the decals, and promoted the advertisers in Waikiki parades, gatherings, special events, etc. I didn’t make a lot of money, but it was fun. We had Jack-in-the-Box cars, Kool cigs, El Charro Tequila, and Bank of Hawaii. It was great to see the cars on the highways and byways of Oahu and be a part of something special. The guy sitting on the bug is Charlie Bird, president and founder of the company–one of the most creative advertising men I’ve ever come across. I do have a bunch of pictures. Even one of a Time Magazine bug, Levi’s Jeans and a whole bunch of others.
I was telling my wife about some of my weird sales jobs and happened on your website. Our company met Charlie Bird and wanted to market the Beetle Boards. It was a great idea as at the time about half the college students in US drove VW bugs. The decals were manufactured by 3M to fit any bug. The best ones that I recall were Levis, denim color with stitching all over and Marantz stereos, a girl with tons of curly hair.
Rosko, Thanks for stopping by and sharing your Beetleboard memories. I saw one of the Levis VW’s back in the day and always wanted to drive one. I actually worked for a Levis retailer when I had my Beetle, but they could never make it happen! I’ve never seen pictures of a Marantz version. Would LOVE to see that! Thanks again for sharing. -K
I’ve got some Beetleboards postcards. They were as material back in the day. I’ve got to figure out how to post them, but I’d love to share. It’s great to see people are interested in the ” cultural phenomena.”
Wow! Beetleboard postcards. Those must be rare. The best way to share them online is to scan them and turn them into JPG’s. Let me know if you ever do that. I’d love to see them.
How much did they pay back then? On Long Island I remember “Kool” ones.
I don’t remember Rich. I think it was $50-$100 per month. A lot of money in those days. The seminar I went to was for KOOL as well, but they weren’t allowed to advertise on college campuses so I was out of luck.
I was a Beetle Boarder. I have pictures. I was one of the first VW “Buses” that were done. I had Olympia Beer, with the little Old Lady from Pasadena stretched out the length of my bus. I lived in El Segundo, CA at the time. Was a single mom and that $50 a month I received to park at different sporting venues or at the beach…..sure came in handy during those times. I even have pictures of the person applying the decals to my bus. I got a free paint job too. Pictures of the finished product too.
It sure was fun to do.
When it was over, they removed the decals. So I don’t think there will be any still roaming around to be found. They would not let me keep the decals on my bus.
Hey Kevin!
I know this is a really old post but I wanted to tell you that my dad, Charlie (in that last photo looking pretty suave lol) was the creator of Beetleboards, and he’s currently writing a book about the business (lots of photos and post cards). So look out for it soon! It’s neat to hear that these people who replied to this post actually drove them! Thank you for sharing 🙂
That’s awesome! Please let me know when it’s published and I’ll share it with my blog readers. I loved Beetleboards so much back in the day. I really wish I’d been able to do it with my Beetle back in the day, but it just wasn’t meant to be!
Reading this thread made my dad’s and my day 🙂 He’s still working in marketing and advertising (I currently work for him) and is as creative as ever. I will let you know when the book is published!
-Chanel
…And THAT makes my day Chanel. After a lengthy career in the media, I moved into marketing a decade ago. My love of Beetlebaords, Muffler Men, neon signs and even billboards made me realize that I was never a radio guy like I thought I was for all those many years. My heart was in the marketing and I’ve never been happier since making the move. Thanks for reaching out and for sharing with your dad!