You are now entering Ad Space, a realm of commercials, brought before us so we might examine how they work, and discuss why we both love and hate them so. So it is written …

The Product:
Living in the 90’s CD

The Promotion:

The Pitch:
It’s called the 90’s, and it’s gonna be around forever!

All aboard the nostalgia train!

I, my dear Avocados, am what’s known as a “90’s Kid”. Born in the 80’s, but by the time I was forming long-term memories, the 1990’s had begun, and that decade comprised most of my formative years. So this ad, it hit me right in the member berries.

What’s really insane is, this came out in 1995. The decade wasn’t even half-over, and we were already getting products and ads that feel like nostalgic throwbacks to their own era. But then, obsessing over the 90’s is such a 90’s thing to do. Just look at this handy supercut I found:

Given that, it’s amazing how perfectly this ad captures Ninetiestolgia, in ways I don’t think it could have predicted.

Like, just the fact that it’s a compilation CD commercial, with clips from music videos playing as the names of songs scroll by on screen, is such an artifact of the era. We also witness the decade’s strange belief that basketball players could translate their athletic skills into talent at any artistic endeavor. Then there’s the 90’s hipster irony on display, as they salute “legendary artist” Vanilla Ice while wearing unnecessary sunglasses. And of course one of the presenters is wearing a crop top – it’s the 90’s, girlfriend!

Add in how they play “I Touch Myself”, “Can’t Touch This”, “Ice, Ice Baby”, and “I’m Too Sexy”, and it’s practically an explosion of 90’s memes. If you weren’t cognizant of American culture in during that decade, I don’t know how much any of this hits, but for me, it’s one big joyride down memory lane (which I think leads to that Information Superhighway I’ve been hearing about).