Friday, June 11, 2010

You may yearn for the old days but...

This is less of a stroll down memory lane and more like removing your iPod earbuds where you've been blissed out while shoulder dancing to The Black Eyed Peas' I'VE GOT A FEELING only to realize your Sunday constitutional on Main Street has taken a twisted turn down a dark alley, one strewn with the dregs of a seedy nightclub and heady with the scent of stale beer and leftover souvlaki from the night before.

I was talking to a friend about the irresistible series MAD MEN which simultaneously attracts and repels me. I lived through that era, in fact, I was around the same age as Don Draper's daughter Sally in the show and later on, in my twenties, I worked for a Toronto ad agency. So while I relate to it on many levels, I find it oddly disturbing. The old ads help explain why.


I'm telling you, be careful when you reminisce about the old days.

Have a great weekend!!


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't remember any of those ads. The ads are both funny and in some cases disturbing!

dykewife said...

i remember a few of those ads. gadz, that means i'm getting old.

when my oldest niece was a bit over a year old (25 odd years ago) she was sometimes given a sip of her mom's milk shakes through a straw. she liked that a lot, especially the vanilla shakes. i thought i'd be funny and gave her a sip of my 7up through a straw. the look on her face just before she spit it all over the table was priceless. it was her first carbonated drink. >:>

yes, i am an evil auntie.

Debby said...

Cripes. I was not aware that laboratory tests had proven the benefits of carbonated beverages for babies. LABORATORY TESTS, NW! Do you know what this means? Why, it means that high fructose corn syrup must not be bad for us after all. And...and...a woman's place MUST truly be in the home...and...and...spankings are a good way to keep the little woman in line...and our special purpose IS cooking...and...and...oh. Piffle. I gotta get ready for work.

The Dancing Crone said...

I'm proud of the work that boomer women did. These things seem funny to me now, but they weren't then. It was a long hard struggle to change things.

nightsmusic said...

Good Gravy, I remember almost all of those ads! Talk about getting old!!

BB said...

Oh Good Lord... that's horrendous. Kind of horrendously hilarious... our poor mothers. Thanks heavens for women's lib!!!!
:-)
BB

A Novel Woman said...

Yes, many of you are so right. We DO have a whole generation of women to thank for digging us out of these trenches.