It’s Friday, and we don’t know about you, but we could really use a break. Between all the fractious “political dialogue” (aka shouting) and the many unpleasant news stories littering the headlines, we would appreciate a short reprieve — just ten or 15 minutes to sit quietly and look at pretty things and remember that humanity isn’t all bad.

Thankfully, the Ram 1500 has come to the rescue.

The Ram sits at the center of a new ad campaign in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual Hunting and Fishing Regulations guide. That may sound like a small-time publication, but it reaches over 3,000,000 outdoors enthusiasts, which is a tailor-made target for Ram.

What makes this ad campaign special is its look. Chrysler could’ve easily slapped together some car-on-road shots of the Ram going about its business, but instead, the automaker hired Anderson Design Group (out of Nashville) to create a series of sumptuous illustrations, all of which hearken back to the Art Deco travel posters of the 1930s and 40s.

But the ads aren’t just pretty to look at: you can purchase them, too. In fact, Anderson is selling them as 18″x24″ prints for $30, with larger and smaller prints ranging from $14 to $300.  (There’s also a postcard set, which includes some non-Ram artwork for just $13.)

As Elizabeth pointed out earlier this week, retro can be a big hit if done correctly, and this campaign taps all the right notes. It’s stylish, well-executed, and smart. In fact, in some ways it reminds us of the Chevrolet Volt spot that GM ran during Motor City Pride, which demonstrated similarly impressive attention to detail for an ad with fairly small reach.

We’ve not always been fans of niche-marketing, but if firms keep cranking out stuff like this, we may change our tune.

[via Media Post]