Once again inspired by contributor Tyson Hugie, I thought it would be appropriate to write about another Pontiac promotion, though one with cars more likely of interest to you: Thom McAn’s GTO shoe and giveaways.
It’s somewhat of a throwback now, but Thom McAn was once quite the popular retail chain. Founded in 1922 in New York, Thom McAn eventually became America’s largest shoe retailer at its peak in the late-1960s. By the mid-1990s, all Thom McAn stores were no more, though the brand continued to be sold at Kmart, Sears (ah, more throwbacks!), Walmart, and Footstar.
When the Pontiac GTO began to capture America’s heart, Pontiac’s advertising agency of record, MacManus, John & Adams (home of the godfather of the GTO, Jim Wangers), approached the shoe company with the idea of taking the image of the Pontiac GTO and applying it to a new “mod” shoe.
The shoe that came to be known as The GTO was touted as “America’s first high-performance shoe” and featured a sole that resembled tire tread. All 1,500 Thom McAn stores had a point-of-sale window display featuring a 1966 GTO racing towards the finish line on a miniature drag strip.
In conjunction, Pontiac provided 50 Tiger Gold 1966 GTOs for a contest that required interested parties to fill out an entry form. In addition to getting his/her name in the drawings, contestants (all 500,000-plus of ‘em) received a set of GTO-themed decals.
The promotion was such a success that Pontiac gave away another 22 GTOs in 1967. Also Tiger Gold, these Goats were equipped with the 400 HO engine, four-speed transmission, custom wood steering wheel and shift ball, heavy-duty springs and shocks, hood-mounted tachometer, Rally wheels, front disc brakes, and more.
