Kawasaki KX and KDX Ads 1980 – 1981
I know I’m probably alone on this one, but I just love advertising.
And I’m particularly fond of some of the fun print ads that appeared in US motocross magazine like Dirt Bike and Motocross Action in the 1980’s.
Check out this great bunch of ads from Kawasaki for their KX motocross and KDX enduro range from 1980-1981.
The industry was going through a technical transformation in the late 70’s and early 80’s with long travel twin shock suspension and mono shock suspension being the talking points for Kawasaki in these ads. However Disc brakes and water cooling were still yet to see the light of day on the production machines.
I think my favourite of the bunch is the ad featuring Brad Lackey with his old Honda gear hanging up behind the 1980 model Kwakas. Clearly Kawasaki was pleased with Lackey joining the team from Honda, proudly declaring “He ain’t dumb”!
Interestingly it seems that in 1980 Kawasaki were using the tag line ” Don’t let the good times pass you by” before changing it to “Let the good times roll” for 1981. Someone must have liked the ‘81 version as 28 years later, Kawasaki is still using the same line.
Tags: 1980s, Advertising, Motocross, Riders, Vintage Motocross
Sad to report, but you’re not alone. As a kid in the 60’s, I always looked forward to the latest issue of National Geographic magazine arriving in the letterbox. And not just for the African photos. I spent hours poring over the car ads. The Pontiac Bonnevilles, Cadillac De Villes, Imperials, Chevys all seemed just so exotic. When we were all tooling around in XR Falcons and old Hillmans, these ads seemed to be offering products from another solar system entirely. And the artwork! The ads were nearly all paintings, and the work was stunning. Beautiful locations, glamourous people, those incredible cars…mere dreams for a young Sydney lad.
Good to see another soul who loves their advertising! You’ll be pleased to know I have a large amount of ad from the 60s 70s and 80s to share over the coming months! Stay tuned
Maybe they changed the tagline to “Don’t let the good times pass you by” specifically for the Lackey ad, because Kawasaki has been using “Let the good times roll” since the early ’70s to this day. Then again, I think they did experiment with a few other tag lines in the interim, and this might be one of them.
Perhaps they got the idea from the Harry Nilsson song in 1972, ‘Let the good times roll’…