Department Of They Don't Write 'Em Like That Anymore

Any time a generation comes into power they bring what they thought was cool into the world they create, Generation Y has their own show "Yo Gabba Gabba" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_Gabba_Gabba!) which takes their 1990s DJ and Rave styles, largely forgotten in the last few years, and rewrites them for a younger generation who, let's face it, isn't going to grow up to go to 1990s raves.

The granddaddy of all of this though is Chicago TV's "Kiddie a Go Go" which was the only legitimately garage TV show from 1966:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGW4cFMAcS0
They combined actual mid-60s dances and DIY high school dance bands for tiny tots.

Pepsi ran a series of ads targeting both "Those Who Think Young" and "The Pepsi Generation" and after all, was there a Pepsi Generation before Pepsi invented it? Those campaigns may have been the beginning of major marketers splitting the market by age or generation (many niche companies did this in the 1950s, but they weren't Pepsi). The risk in doing so is that for every prescient marketing coup like "Rock and Roll High School" that taps into a teen trend with legs, there are 3 "Roller Boogies" that make a quick buck but embarass the corporation a few years later.

Screaming Yellow Zonkers is the only snack product and commercial that coolly reflected the times, tapping into teenage aggression in the riots and "whole world is watching" era. Two lesser commercials, Belly Bongos and Grab a Loop, portray teenagers involved in hula hoop type games and therefore are naturally more active. There are a few films like this drive-in theater one that also tries to hit the Bonnie and Clyde nostalgia boom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KbdDRoydk8
Sadly the marketers went straight to the mellow, easy to digest Peter Maxes of the world when producing ads for the "UnCola" 7-Up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8-eLMuCdfI
Or the notoriously "Fantastic Planet" style of these Levis ads that Chris Blum made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TRgokZLIwA

And While Kaptain Kool and the Kongs reinterpret the 1960s attitude with a huge dose of Welcome Back Kotter, an obscure TV show named Run, Joe, Run detailed the sad story of many of our returning Vietnam Veterans, this poor German Shepherd suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Vietnam Flashbacks as he tried to help kids stay out of trouble:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FM3Z2NEowo

The only warning I can give corporations is to stick with aggressive or macho images and avoid going after dance trends and their marketing will seem cooler later on.

The Man Can't Bust Our Music.