“The Victory Auto Wreckers guy: Almost every night since 1981, on some channel, Bob Zajdel has barely escaped injury when the driver's door fell off his old Chevy. A few bucks later, the clunker is off to Victory's Bensenville lot. Zajdel was a driver for Victory when he made the commercial a quarter-century ago. That was the extent of his pitchman career. But repeated airings of the ad have made him and his door legendary.” -- April 28, 2005, Chicago Tribune
What is amazing about this commercial’s run is not its longevity, but its continued validity. The same mullet hairstyle, the same too-tight boot cut Levi’s, the same overburdened keychain hanging from the belt, the same faded, skin-hugging t-shirt, the same mid-1970’s Chevy. It’s all still completely plausible. We all see guys who look like that, who drive a car like that, all the time.
And, for the most part, they seem very happy. (Well, except when the car door falls off…)
It’s been mocked in books
movies
and on TV.
But can you name another cultural touchstone so constant, so unchanging, as the freak/burnout/whatever they called them in your high school?
Is it time to call this look “classic?”
Their music hasn’t changed. It’s Zepplin, or AC/DC, Rush, Metallica. Their clothing hasn’t changed, as noted above. I never see them in Sushi restaurants, let alone anyplace serving “fusion cuisine.” They are endlessly faithful to their identity. Maybe it’s time we stopped laughing at them and started marveling at their self-awareness.
