Roberta Cruger

“TV’s Ad-Time Jukebox Can’t Give No Satisfaction” - excerpt of Newsday “Culture Watch” column

Amid a moving montage of Day-Glo colors swirling, young clothing models groove to the boogie of Canned Heats “Let’s Get Together.” A hot new auto tears down a road to Roger Daltrey of The Who squealing “We Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Creem, Queen, Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix also have resurfaced to provide the soundtrack for TV ads selling goods and services from computers to stockbrokers for Baby Boomers.

Are these flashbacks just a marketing ploy geared to nostalgic consumers raised on rock ‘n’ roll, or do they represent the mainstreaming—the abuse and misuse—of a once thriving American counterculture?

The familiar hooks of hippie hits from the ‘60s and ’70s sure beat the corny jingles of “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz” and “M’mm good! M’mm good!” as well as the toasty Motown oldies or the saccharin pop sounds of Abba. However, the latest ad campaigns may be pushing products at the expense of exploiting our memories. We remember ditties such as “Double your pleasure, double your fun” for Doublemint gum, whether or not they ever induced anyone to chew the stuff. But not with the fondness that a Cream or Canned Heat song evokes.

Catchy and sometimes cloying commercial jingles are rare nowadays, replaced with a beguiling line or two from the classic-rock radio playlist. Little did Steve Miller imagine that he’d be reminding us 30 years later that our packages could “Fly Like an Eagle” via Express Mail. Having the Joker providing the theme for the postmaster general somehow legitimizes the era of peace and love. There’s a guilty pleasure in hearing the percussive chords of “I’m a Man” by the Spencer Davis Group during a commercial break. But it’s also disconcerting to hang out in a time warp, keeping the spirit of Woodstock alive with a new Nissan...