When I was in school, Back-To-School ads used to bother me, as an unnecessary reminder that summer was eventually going to end. The record earliest was two weeks into summer, and the record stupidest was from a car dealer. In retrospect, I realise that one was supposed to be ironic, but it wasn't too funny at the time.
It was understandable then that stores made a big deal about it then: there was a lot to buy for school because so much of it was consumed or wore out: pens, pencils, paper, binders, bags. You had to stock up on all you would need during the year because in those pre-Staples days, you didn't know when you could get it for a reasonable price again.
It seems to have changed with technology, though. The ubiquitous lined binder paper used to be an easy loss leader (I still have a box of out that I'm trying to get through.) But today it's more about technology, which doesn't really have to be replaced every year (trust me, I made it to 1992 writing reports on a Commodore 64.) But parents with the combined panic of back-to-school and fear-of-technology could be easily manipulated by their kids to get everything replaced with the latest models now.
Which leads me to this Future Shop ad where they have the teenagers walking out dressed as the academic superstars they are supposed to become: astronauts, surgeons, rock stars. And now I'm glad that I only had to deal with a reminder that school was about to start again, not pressure to be exceptional. Once again, our fast-advancing technological world we're expecting too much from today's kids. It makes me glad I came from good old no-hope Generation X.
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