Oreo Cookie and Six Flags Commercials - Nostalgia for Sale :: Media Advertising Essays

Oreo Cookie and Six Flags Commercials - Nostalgia for Sale Many television commercials choose to feature a contrast between youth and maturity as their subject. An â€Å"Oreo Cookie† commercial, for example, features a little girl who is about four years old mimicking her grandfather’s actions in eating a cookie. Another commercial advertises the popular theme park, Six Flags Great Adventure. This commercial, entitled â€Å"The Six Flags Dancing Man,† features an elderly man dancing like an enthusiastic child. This relates to Stephen King’s idea in â€Å"My Creature from the Black Lagoon,† that adults long for and are often reminded of their childhood. Meanwhile, Rita Dove’s essay, â€Å"Loose Ends,† and Marie Winn’s essay, â€Å"Television Addiction,† each presents the great influence television has on life, often because of television’s great aspect of reality. Together, these ideas support the reasoning behind an advertisement’s attempt to sell abstract id eas. By using youth and old age in commercials, advertisers can sell nostalgia as a way of making commercials more memorable. Nabisco, the company that produces Oreo Cookies, has always been known for outstanding commercials. Yet this â€Å"Oreo Cookie† commercial is perhaps the most remarkable. First, she twists the cookie apart and then, this cute little girl with her hair in pigtails proceeds to dunk the cookie in a tall glass of milk, submerging her entire hand. The camera then shifts to show the child’s grandfather eating the cookie in the same manner. This advertisement aims at leading audiences to reminisce of the simple pleasures of their childhood, like enjoying a cookie. While doing so, the advertisers have created a memorable commercial. Also, in â€Å"The Six Flags Dancing Man† commercial, family members are sitting on the front porch of their home, trying to arrange a day to spend at Six Flags Great Adventure. Because of their busy schedules, the attempt seems impossible. Suddenly, a red school bus pulls up and a very old man hobbles off, dressed in a black tuxedo and a red bow tie. Then, upbeat music begins to play and the man begins dancing wildly, inviting the family aboard the bus to go to Six Flags Great Adventure. The family happily joins the old man and the bus pulls away.