Brent Green: Fidelity Investments recently unveiled a 30-second television commercial that presents the biography of a Boomer woman. In this frenetic, flowing montage, augmented by rapid cuts of iconographic images such as the “peace sign,” Fidelity has effectively captured powerful elements of the Boomer zeitgeist.

Carol began adulthood as a “flower child,” but, departing from the narcissistic stereotypes often permanently attached to Boomers by misguided advertisers, she evolved beyond her Dionysian beginnings. Her political philosophy morphed from liberal to conservative. She became engaged in her community as a parent, fundraiser and leader. She ascended the corporate ladder. Now, with retirement on the horizon, Carol is realizing her dream to become a world traveler.



Carol’s life has followed the trajectory of many women who came of age during the sixties and seventies. Carol progressed from the counterculture era to becoming a responsible adult, running companies and assuming leadership roles in her community. She’s changed political affiliations — ostensibly from Democratic during the sixties to Republican during the Reagan era — and she has faced and survived the personal crisis of cancer.



She’s raised a family and taken care of people who needed her support. The impression viewers get is that she’s independent, self-confident, and, like so many of her peers, fully liberated.



It is notable that the final montage image pauses on Carol in an airport lounge waiting for her plane — by herself. No husband. No kids to wish her farewell. Just Carol and her dream being realized.



More here.