I wasn't yet in the double digits (aka, I was younger than 10) in 1972. I think the ad is actually pretty good, given the time. Sex sells, and a girl in a swimsuit... bank. Finding a way to link expensive bicycles to that, in a beach setting, might have been harder. The "hippy" crowd at the time was all about bicycles, so, no need to really hard sell to them... that dude is modernly dressed, moderned coiffed, and handsome enough. I think he's a bridge between hippy and middle income America.

I was riding my stingray knockoff to the municipal swimming pool almost everyday in 1972. I thought I was pretty cool, but I'm sure I wasn't turning any heads of the opposite sex. I would have wanted to be that guy.