Coprolite Newsletter, January 2004

It didn't hit me until I saw the pictures of an audience wearing cardboard 3D glasses while watching NASA's pictures from Mars. Everything from the past is coming back, only with a twist.

I remember wearing that same kind of glasses in the early 1950s. Back then, we were watching movies like “House of Wax” and “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The difference is that today, we're not watching scary creatures terrorizing people on earth. WE’RE the alien invaders, no doubt striking great fear into any inhabitants who may be living on Mars.

Movies from the 1950s are not the only things from the past that are being reprised today. Almost everything of a certain age is making a comeback.

In the 1930s, the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary caused quite a stir when it made its stately way into New York Harbor for the first time. When the rich and famous crossed the Atlantic, they did so by ship. Later they switched to jet planes and, beginning in 1969, celebrities favored supersonic travel on the Concorde. The Concorde had its day, but now it’s a thing of the past. And this year the Queen Mary 2 makes its first voyage to New York. Triple the size of the Titanic, it’s the largest ocean liner ever built. They say you can pay up to $30,000 a week per passenger for super-deluxe accommodations. The people who built it aren’t fools. Obviously, the upper crust of society is longing to return to the old days.

I wonder if the rich needed supersonic speed during the 70s, 80s, and 90s just to show how busy and important they were. Now perhaps the biggest luxury is having the free time to drop out for a week in order to get where you’re going.

Other forms of transportation are also enjoying a retro renaissance. Chrysler’s PT Cruiser looks like a slightly smaller version of the panel trucks that delivered groceries when I was a boy. Chevy’s SSR imitates the design of pickup trucks from the late 40s and early 50s.

The buyers of these retro vehicles may be longing for the simpler days of the past. You can be pretty sure that auto makers are also looking for the simpler days of the past. That’s why they sell hardly any cars anymore. Everything is a light truck or SUV these days. Why? Well, trucks and SUVs aren’t subject to those pesky laws that now set limits on gas consumption and exhaust emissions.

This focus on building passenger vehicles that supposedly are also designed to haul things really goes back to the early days of the industry. The story is told of how Henry Ford, when designing the Model A, decided how much space to leave between the back seat and front seat. He said there should be enough room for farmers to carry their milk cans. Today, manufacturers make these decisions based on government guidelines. By increasing the road clearance a tad, changing the configuration of the bumper, or making the rear seat capable of lying flat, they can turn what looks like a car into what is technically a light truck. Voila! No more worries about emissions or mileage. And if some customers balk at driving trucks, the retro look helps give them an air of coolness.

In all this nostalgia for retro things, there's only one remnant of the mid-twentieth century that doesn’t seem to be very popular today. Unfortunately, it’s the people. Those of us who date back to that era just aren't riding that same wave of popularity.

For example, when someone calls our house with a marketing survey, they’re pathetically eager to talk to us until they find out our age. Then there's an awkward pause, and they ask “I'm sorry, is there anyone there between 25 and 34 that I could talk with?” And forget about applying for a job in middle age or beyond, unless your ambition is to be a greeter doling out carts at a big chain store.

Maybe if guys like me had managed to keep those sleek, retro hair styles with the big wave just above the forehead, we’d have come back in style like the old cars and trucks. Maybe middle-aged-and-up women should hire PR people to convince the public that being built for comfort and serenity is better than being fast, loud, and petite. Then they could eclipse today’s ingénues in the same way as ocean liners did the Concorde. And if the marketers and politicians and employers who set such a store on youth only knew the depth of perception we can bring to any situation—even without the benefit of polarizing 3D glasses—they might start to value our wealth of experience.

––Wayne Adams
wayne@coprolites.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

To read other Coprolite Columns, return to Newsletter Archives.

You are welcome to forward this newsletter to anyone, as long as you send it in its entirety. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://three.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coprolitenews.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Who are the Coprolites—a tribe, a secret society, a religious order? If you ’re unfamiliar with this proud but little-understood group, visit http://www.coprolites.org for more information. Find out how you—or that friend of yours who has a birthday coming up—can benefit.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For professionally written and edited newsletters, brochures, speeches, scripts, or web copy, get in touch with WordMagic Communications. We have lots of powerful words in stock, with fresh supplies arriving daily.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Need a speaker for your workshop, seminar, or meeting? Check out The Expert Speakers Group. .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -