Roberta Flack, singer, pianist, and all around class act, passed away Monday. She was well-loved in Japan and gained popularity there after a nationwide tour there in 1975. She performed in Japan many times in the decades since, with her final concert there taking place in 2013. She achieved even more fame when her duet, “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” with Peabo Bryson, was featured in an 80s commercial for Bridgestone Regno tires.
The spot featured a man and woman in dueling Ferrari 365 GTBs as Flack and Bryson crooned over the automotive foreplay. The beautifully shots of sun-dappled Daytonas sped down a forest lane made a strong impression on viewers at the time, with many enthusiasts today fondly remembering the ad. Bridgestone even released it as a single (lead image) with the black and red Daytonas on the cover. Interestingly, the tires didn’t even make the cut.
The Regno line, which is still in production today, is Bridgestone’s flagship model. It’s meant for luxury GTs and is designed to balance comfort and quietness with cornering and handing ability. Flack’s commercial wasn’t the only Regno spot to use a tender love ballad as a soundtrack. Other ads in the series featured two Audi Quattros driving to “Time” by the Alan Parsons Project, and twin Ferrari 275 GTBs passing like ships while “One More Night” by Phil Collins plays.
It wasn’t just the Regno. Here’s a Bridgestone Aleph ad with Alfa Romeo Spiders cruising the US to Cheap Trick’s “The Flame”. Many of these commercials used Western songs because Bridgestone was the sole sponsor of a late-night TV program called Best Hits USA that played Billboard chart hits and was credited for Japan’s 80s boom in Western music.
Bridgestone’s ads played in heavy rotation during the show, but it wasn’t the only company making this type of ad. The 80s saw heaps of tire commercials filmed in exotic locales around Europe and North America, with dramatic music and fancy European cars. These ads didn’t tout features like safety or fuel economy. They barely spoke a word. Instead, the emphasis was put on the romance of driving, making voices like Flack’s the perfect accompaniment.
I miss the glamour of driving.