“A PLUG FOR PERFORMANCE” 1969 CHAMPION SPARK PLUGS SALES REEL RIVERSIDE RACEWAY XD39184

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This 1969 color sponsored film for Champion brand spark plugs produced by Portafilms uses actors portraying a "boss" engineer and a "nerdy" secretary (in fairly stereotypical, sexist roles) as they review the film itself. In this meta exercise, they discuss the process of testing spark plugs, and enumerate the advantages of the Champion brand over its competition (TRT: 28:45).
Animated opening titles: “Champion Presents a Plug for Performance” (0:10). A man wearing a suit and glasses uses an 8mm film projector. Animation shows spark plugs dancing erratically in stop-motion. A red heart envelops a spark plug. The man looks nonplussed (0:26). Animation illustrates two blue wires coming together, with an asterisk-shaped spark. An “explosion” (0:48). Montage: A racetrack, trucks, recreational motorboats, cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The man switches off the projector in frustration (0:57). A blonde woman in glasses types at an electric typewriter, pencils in a correction. Acting as a secretary, she approaches the man, who represents engineering. She takes dictation (1:08). Animated spark show design evolution (2:34). The man takes a “male gaze” at the secretary. She removes her glasses. A jump cut shows her with a more glamorous hairdo. Befuddled, the man returns to the projector (3:14). Riverside International Raceway in fast-motion, from a car’s POV. Red Chevy Checker taxicabs test fuel economy. A pit stop. Testing a battery with a multimeter. A pit crew at work. A banner, “An Untuned Car is Trouble.” A fuel container, an automatic throttle control, and a photoelectric cell are installed (3:25). Fuel is measured, poured. The photocell passes a light on the starting line. A reel of magnetic tape triggers the throttle. A driver steers the cab (4:05). A fifth wheel measures distance on an odometer (4:43). The cabs approach a “76” gas station. Plugs are changed. The secretary drifts to sleep. The engineer rolls his eyes (5:30). Champion plugs superimposed over a fuel tank, indicating better mileage. The words “turbo action” start the secretary dancing (6:00). 2-D animation of a spark plug shows an elongated ceramic insulator tip (7:34). Engineering research in testing laboratories (8:17). A dramatically lit test lab, with engines behind panes of glass and engineers taking notes. Cargo is loaded onto a private jet. Consumer-grade automobiles accelerate from a starting line at Sebring International Raceway in Florida, supervised by the United States Auto Club (9:02). A lineup of diverse European and U.S. automobiles (9:56). A remote “start” button is pressed, activating solenoids on an accelerator (10:15). Two Volkswagen Beetles race (10:40). A helicopter lands at Germany’s Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg motordrome. Test cars measure rates of acceleration by passing a large truck (11:04). The secretary dozes (12:47). Toyotas and Datsuns at Sebring. USAC supervises (13:19). 1969 Chevrolets race through balloon barriers (14:02). Stop motion spark plugs (14:41). The subjective POV of the engineer shows the secretary smiling, shoulders bared. His reverie is interrupted by her glasses (15:00). Animation: A powder sealing material fills a spark plug in a cutaway illustration. Concentric circles represent the spark of a cold start. A cartoon smoke puff of carbon corrosion nibbles at the electrode (15:27). An arrow indicates Champion’s “booster gap” design. The resistor is circled (16:40). Champion employees drive 1969 Action Age Scramblers (small, amphibious, ATVs). Testing lawn mowers and boats (17:46). A chainsaw. A Honda motorcycle has plugs installed before a ride at Michigan International Raceway (18:16). Closeup on gold plated plugs. Installation in a Ski-doo snowmobile. Photos from a cold start test (19:35). Athletes Roger Maris, Bailey Howell, Bill Esposito, Paul Hornung at a commercial shoot with GM pickup trucks at Road America (20:53). Buick Skylarks race (22:06). A room of men review a chalkboard drawing depicting the stunt (23:42). Another testosterone moment sees the secretary in a sweater and skirt, intercut with dancing spark plugs. The Champion logo crashes in (25:00). A promotional reel of short-form commercials reviewing earlier scenes. Slogan: “Champions can make a difference” (25:26). Pro golfers Julius Boros and Tom Weiskopf race Chevys (26:39). The pickup race, condensed (27:37).
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[@miata1492]

Finally: a Periscope offering with clever, tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

[@joshacollins84]

Did anyone else fear for Miss Shamansky's umm "honor" every time he said "the little things"? Lol

[@joekurtz8303]

Seen a few of these promo films at seminars and auto shop classes. Helps the common consumer understand how your automobile runs. All sparkplugs are usually engineered for the heat range your car normally operates, and sometimes it's best to use the OEM⚡ plug for your car.

[@andrewsmactips]

Turbo Encabulator meets Vertigo.

[@davidgoodrich4745]

For a moment i thought it was going into porno mode a couple times.

[@jeffreycoulter4095]

I did too

[@nikolaykrotov8673]

Thought the girl was going to get plugged by the middle of film. Priceless: 16:20

[@nickalkire1187]

Nice to meet you, Mr. Plugs!!

[@tomasnokechtesledger1786]

Love those old Mobil1 and Amsoil films.

[@whitesapphire5865]

Reminds me of the Monty Python skit where ...... "The white car represents new Crelm toothpaste, with miracle ingredient "Fraudulin" and the not white car represents a regular toothpaste"........!

[@nikolaykrotov8673]

I bet the guys electrode got fouled pretty quickly :)

[@whitesapphire5865]

Poor miss scheminski!!

[@Jakek200]

While listening to the music at the beginning I was starting to wonder if this was supposed to be a horror film. Little things. LiTtLe ThInGs. litTLE thiNGS. LitTle tHiNgS.

[@yugotime1598]

Excellent find on this one! Do you have any dealing with air, fuel, or oil filters?

[@scratchdog2216]

NGK

[@TheAwmoody]

I'm trying to figure out the voice of the engineer actor lol. He sounds familiar.

[@jerrynewberry2823]

Sounds like the guy that did movietone news as a short at your movie theater. Only us past prime time players would know that from before about 1965.

[@sambone8194]

I don't know the actor's name, but he narrated quite a few automotive technology films. Look up "Chrysler Turboencabulator."

[@kennethjohnson6319]

I watched the commercials for Champion spark plugs Champion spark plugs are the Cadillac of all spark plugs made

[@gregoryclemen1870]

what is interesting is the fact that general motor spark plugs ( A C ) are albert champion spark plugs, he worked for william durant starting out and had a big falling out and started his own company.

[@n.mcneil4066]

@@gregoryclemen1870The fallout was because after Champion sold his spark plug patent to Durant he just kept on manufacturing Campion Spark plugs. And, they are still being made today.

[@n.mcneil4066]

Correction. There never was a disagreement between Champion & Durant. In 1905 Champion started producing Champion plugs with 2 partners, the Stranahan brothers. In 1908 Durant approached Champion about producing plugs for his cars. The partners disagreed & moved to Toledo where they continued manufacturing Champions. Meanwhile champion produced plugs for GM. The Stranahans did not want Champion using his own name so Champion had to settle with using his acronym, AC, which it has been ever since. After his death in 1927 AC was sold to GM. No, I don't thInk Durant was too pleased with the Stranahan brothers though.

[@TheDistur]

little things little things little things

[@rcrobertson9563]

They don,t do so well in the lawnmower...lol

[@Toolaholic7]

Riverside raceway is no longer there.Champion also made the none platinum and iridium plugs for AC Delco.OEM for Chrysler for a long time

[@timvandenbrink4461]

Where was the raceway?

[@Toolaholic7]

@@timvandenbrink4461 California somewhere.

[@JasonTrew2018]

@@Toolaholic7 Riverside International Raceway was located at the intersection of California 60 and Day Street, the track is now the Moreno Valley Mall, shopping centers and homes One other thing, towards the end of the backstretch of Riverside was a bridge sponsored by Champion, up until 1989 it became the Bosh bridge

[@jimhaines8370]

The only plugs Champion made for other brands that I know of as I was told by a Champion engineer that the NipponDenso now Denso branded plugs that state Assembled in US from Japanese parts were assembled by Champion at their only US plant in Burlington, Iowa

[@jimhaines8370]

AMC and International also

[@1978garfield]

It seems most of the cars they used were GMs. I wonder if AC Delco was the "Brand X"? Also I could tell she was a "pretty, ugly girl" the moment she walked in. Obviously those glasses were going to come off and the hair would come down.

[@jimhaines8370]

Back in that era GM sold half or more of all cars sold in the US so they would be the target as AC Spark Plug division in Flint, Michigan would have been a big competitor for Champion Champion was OE for Chrysler and AMC as well as many industrial engine companies

[@joshuagibson2520]

Not sure how a plug is gonna have an effect on fuel economy, but Okay. Esp on a mechanical carbureted engine.

[@jerrynewberry2823]

A more positive spark (better), what he described is a hotter plug. Not necessarily further in the combustion chamber as shown, but more exposure. Further back up the plug, better for oil burning. Carburetors are efficient mixers of air and fuel but the distance from the carburetors should be the same for all cylinders. Injection was used way before carburation, just cheaper.

[@joshuagibson2520]

@@jerrynewberry2823 right, but if a plug fires when timed to do so, I don't see how spark plug can have any effect on fuel economy. It fires when the coil says to fire.

[@jerrynewberry2823]

@@joshuagibson2520 increased efficiency of fire creates a better burn of the fuel. As with all combustion, some fuel is left unburned. The hotter the spark, the more burned fuel during the ignition phase. It would kind of be like changing octane. Higher Octane, the slower, therfore cooler the combustion of the gas. Or how bout, if I lit a cigarette (or joint) with a cutting torch instead of a bic lighter. Cutting torch would light it alot faster. Right now, that's the best way I can explain why it would be more efficient. I apologize for my explanation, but I'm having a severe hesdache.

[@joshuagibson2520]

@@jerrynewberry2823 aaah. Makes a little more sense in that context. Thanks for reminding me I need to roll one. :-)

[@jimhaines8370]

@@joshuagibson2520 The turbo action he spoke of was a projected nose spark plug which was still fairly new what I understand developed with input from Smokey Yunick. It moved the gap further in to combustion chamber it acted like advancing timing with out detonation problems. I had a longer insulator that kept it cleaner by being hotter burning any build up off but also in the path of intake charge that also cooled insulator to away pre-ignition ping. These were also the days of mostly point type ignition so any small change could help with ignition performance which when everybody switched to electronic which put out more voltage it was not nearly as critical.