Kid of the 90s

I'm a kid of the 90s. I know, I come off so mature that you're surprised I'm so young, but it’s true I spent many formative years in that decade. In case you still don’t believe me I’ll prove it: Raise your hand if you ever had one (or more) of the following: Pogs, Giga Pets, or Furbies. I’m raising my hand.

To the folks reading this of my grandparents’ age who think I just had a stroke, I actually didn’t just make up those words, those were all real toys that were extremely popular at some point in the 90s.

Anyway, being a kid of the 90s, I've noticed that advertisers have set their collective sites on my generation as of late. Maybe it's because we’re entering the modern normal period of parenthood (and when you have kids you have things to buy, and they have things to sell). Maybe it's because technology makes it easier to target ads to specific cohorts. Whatever the reason, I’ve observed an uptick in the number of Power Rangers (the original group, not those goofy knockoffs from the last two decades) Ninja Turtles (ditto), and Steve Urkel references in the general marketplace.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that marketers want to tap into my nostalgic feelings for Power Rangers to encourage me to buy their brand of diapers. It just feels like a cheap shot. I want to high five them for talking about Megazord and they’re like, “Sike! We just want you to buy our things.” It feels like being 10 again and finding out all the fight scenes from the aforementioned shows are fake.

I’ve also noticed the music being played in stores now often seems to be the pop tunes from 1998 on repeat. (Or maybe someone just popped Now 2 into every store’s CD player and hit shuffle.) I guess the thought here is that if they can create a fun atmosphere through throwback feel-good songs I might buy more pairs of socks. I’m skeptical. Although, I do have a lot of socks…

Of course, marketing to a group with music certainly isn't new. Baby boomers have been targeted by drug companies through their shared music for at least a decade and a half. “Groovy, man, they're playing “The Age of Aquarius” in the background of this cholesterol drug commercial so I think I'll take it.” Said no one ever. I hope.

Trying to connect with potential buyers through their childhood is just part of capitalism I guess. It’s ironic for the Boomers that Woodstock nostalgia is now being used by The Man to generate sales. It's also ironic that the millennials’ “Just Say No” campaign went up in a cloud of suspicious smelling smoke their parents created in recent years. I guess not all childhood themes make it to adulthood.

Nonetheless, if you’re of my generation, keep an eye out for the touchstones of our childhood being used to manipulate us. But you don't have to take my word for it: just count the number of Home Alone allusions in commercials over the next two months.