In the autumn of 1993, the official Belgian Ford magazine called Performance turned its attention to the hype of the year: Jurassic Park. The October issue was packed with dinosaur fever: film articles, merchandise guides, and a jaw-dropping competition, all tied together under the roar of the most talked-about movie of the year.
A Smart Cross-Promotion, With a Belgian Twist
Ford’s involvement with Jurassic Park was no accident. The company had paid to have its Ford Explorer prominently featured as the iconic tour vehicles in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster — those sleek yellow-striped SUVs being chased through the rain by a T-Rex are seared into cinema history. For reportedly just $500,000, the Ford Explorer became one of the most recognizable product placements in film history.
But here’s where it gets interesting for Belgian fans. The Ford Explorer was a North American model and simply wasn’t part of Ford’s European lineup at the time. So what did Ford Belgium do? They substituted the next best thing: the brand-new Ford Maverick 4×4, a compact SUV launched in Europe in 1993 and wrapped it with the Jurassic Park logo for the cover of its magazine.
The Competition: Win the Maverick, See the Movie
The centrepiece of the Performance issue was an unmissable full-page competition advertisement. Under the banner “GROTE GRATIS WEDSTRIJD” (Big Free Contest), readers were offered the chance to win 1 Ford Maverick 4×4 and 5,000 tickets to see Jurassic Park in Belgian cinemas.
The contest ran from 9 September to 30 October 1993. To enter, readers had to visit one of 51 Resto GB restaurants or a Ford dealership after a test drive in the Maverick 4×4, fill in the participation form, and correctly answer three questions about Jurassic Park and Ford. The questions were wonderfully on-brand: “Jurassic Park is a film by…?” (with Steven Spielberg among the options), “What is the Resto GB slogan?”, and “The Ford Maverick 4×4 offers how many wheelbases?”.
Inside the Magazine: Jurassic Park, Dé Filmbelevenis
Beyond the competition, Performance dedicated serious editorial space to the film itself. A feature article titled “Jurassic Park – dé filmbelevenis” dove deep into the making of the movie, celebrating Spielberg’s obsession with dinosaurs since childhood and the groundbreaking collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), directed by George Lucas, for the CGI and animatronic effects.
The article explained how the production built a complete jungle on Universal Studios backlot, constructed animatronic dinosaurs and models brought to life by teams of “puppet masters”. It also contextualised the film’s story while teasing the philosophical question the film dares to ask: “DNA cloning is possible, but is it also acceptable?”
Groeten Uit De Jura: The Ultimate Dino Merchandise Guide
Another valuable piece for a collector is the double-page “Groeten Uit De Jura” (Greetings from the Jurassic) shopping spread. Written at the height of Jurassic Park merchandise mania, it cataloged many licensed products available in Belgium at the time, complete with prices in Belgian francs. Highlights included:
- Kenner action figures: the full line from Coelophysis and Pteranodon to Dimetrodon and Velociraptor, with deluxe Triceratops and Stegosaurus at 1,095 BEF (27 EUR) and the electronic Tyrannosaurus Rex (with movement and sound!) at 3,975 BEF (99 EUR)
- Tamiya scale models at 1/35th scale: 15 models across the “Prehistoric World” series, each 375 BEF (9,30 EUR)
- Ravensburger puzzles: the 500-piece “Dinosaurussen” set at 275 BEF and a 200-piece version at 295 BEF (7,30 EUR)
- MB’s official Jurassic Park game, described as “a game for adventurers from 8 up” featuring a lost island populated by Spielberg’s dinosaurs, at 402 BEF (10 EUR)
- The novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, co-written with David Koepp for the screenplay: described as the true father of the techno-thriller, “not science-fiction, but a scientific possibility”
- “Dinotopia” by James Gurney, the illustrated fantasy world where humans and dinosaurs coexist, at 238 BEF (5,80 EUR)
- “De Fantastische Wereld van de Dinosauriërs” (Gallimard, 995 BEF or 25 EUR) and its French counterpart “Le Monde perdu des Dinosaures” at 450 BEF (11 EUR), both authored by palaeontologist and iguanodon specialist Jean-Guy Michard
The article also pointed collectors toward the Tamiya “Prehistoric World Series” model sets, noting that Tamiya had worked closely with Jurassic Park on the project and invited readers to win a complete collection of all three named model sets by sending a postcard to Ford Motor Company Belgium.
A time capsule from the past
This single October 1993 issue of Performance is a remarkable time capsule. It captures the exact moment when Jurassic Park wasn’t just a film, it was a cultural juggernaut reshaping retail, automotive marketing, and pop culture simultaneously. For Belgian collectors in particular, the Ford Maverick connection makes it uniquely local: a European substitute for the Explorer that starred in the film, dressed in full Jurassic regalia and dangled as the ultimate prize.
If you ever come across a copy at a flea market or brocante, don’t hesitate. It belongs in the collection.
