Anachronism. It's a word we all learned in tenth-grade English class. If you don't remember learning it, I'm sure you just weren't paying attention that day. For those in that category, an anachronism is something in a story or movie that doesn't belong in the time period of the tale. An easy example would be the Founding Fathers diligently working on the Constitution while writing on laptop computers.

Nostalgia is big in commercials. Sell the emotion associated with the product, not necessarily the product. Just watch any commercial around the holidays. It's not always easy to immediately identify the advertised product. Which brings me to a particular commercial for Hidden Vally Ranch Dressing.

The company goes to great lengths to recreate suburban life in what seems to be the early Sixties. The cars are old, kids are playing in the street, and there's even a milkman, for God's sake! A milkman! Everyone is eating salads and vegetables drenched in Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. And to ensure that no one runs out, a young boy rides down the street on a bicycle tossing bottles of dressing to all who need it. Those of us who remember when there was a milkman and a young boy delivering newspapers on a bicycle recall how the boy could toss the paper while riding and get it somewhat close to the house of his customer. What I don't recall is the bicycle having pegs on the front and back axles for trick riding - something that didn't come to be until the early Nineties. And worse, in the commercial, the boy is wearing a helmet. Trust me, there were no bicycle helmets in the days when there were milkmen. I'm certain that the advertisers are kowtowing to the lawyers because if they show a child riding an older bicycle and not wearing a helmet, someone, somewhere in the world, will try it, get hurt and sue the company. I get that, but it pisses me off.

Other anachronisms that deserve mention are telephones with a dial, and one of the dumbest of all, the sound of a needle scratching across a record - usually used when an element of shock or surprise is needed. It sort of indicates a grind to a halt. The desired demographic for most products have never used a phone with a dial nor have they had to deal with an old record player with a stylus (needle). Nor have they heard a busy signal on a phone. I find it interesting that advertisers have embraced this tool in their work while in the real world, people don't really know about these things although they have heard about them.