One of the most common trends in television commercials is using nostalgia to sell a product. It was about 25 years ago that Boomers about lost it when Beatles songs began appearing in commercials. Many members of Gen X are noticing that commercials now are playing songs that they grew up with. If this trend continues, then in thirty years Millennials and Gen Z are going to start noticing some of the songs that played on the radio when they were kids in commercials. Let’s take a look at some of the hits that we might be seeing in commercials of the future.
“Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus). 2019’s Song of the Summer and Lil Nas X’s breakout single will most definitely be featured in almost every car commercial thirty years from now. Car manufacturers are going to have to fight over who gets to use it in their commercial just for the opportunity to say “take this car’s horsepower to the old town road.”
“Riptide” by Vance Joy. This song is going to be used in the “after” half of an antidepressant commercial. It’ll follow the sad piano music that plays while a middle-aged woman describes her symptoms. “Riptide” will start playing when she goes on antidepressants and is dancing at some outdoor concert, but it’ll only be background noise to the long list of side effects that could come with the medication.
“No Tears Left to Cry” by Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande’s single will definitely be used in an eye-drop commercial for dry eyes. The commercial will brand the eye-drops as perfect for when you have no tears left to cry because your eyes are too dry. This song will be especially useful in making eye drops seem more fun, and could probably help set eye drop commercials apart from antidepressant ones, as the two definitely have some overlap in their format.
“Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran. This 2017 hit will probably be used in a future Spanx commercial, or another form of shapewear. The commercial will feature the upbeat song playing in the background while women try on the shapewear.
“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Ray Jepsen. This song, while a little older than the rest, was one of the most popular of the early 2010s and probably a big piece of childhood nostalgia for many Millennials and Gen Z. This pop anthem will probably be used in a cell phone commercial, specifically for a pre-paid cell phone commercial. They will probably throw in something about how you should pay for the “call/text/data” plan so that you can be called (assuming that cell phones are still relevant in thirty years).