User:Boston/Old Timeyness

Old Timeyness is the invocation of images and memes of the late 1800s and 1900s, generally not more than a generation before or after the turn of the century. The term that describes such images, "Old Timey", may also be used in a more general sense, in which case it is synonymous with "old fashioned".

Old timeyness is often campy and put forth as a sort of "ultra-corniness". At other times, it is used to invoke an era of integrity and quality that stands in opposition to inferior "new fangled" ways of doing things.

Examples
Examples of references made to things which are old timey include the following:

Television

 * The Simpsons has made many references to things that are old timey, such as patent medicine, barbershop quartet and antique bicycles. Box socials have been mentioned more than once.  Grandpa Simpson often includes old timey concepts in his rants.  Mr. Burns often makes old timey references as well.
 * Conan O'Brien sometimes references old timeyness on his show, saying that he feels like he should be twirling his handlebar mustache, holding an over-sized mug of root beer, etc. He has also joked about wearing an old timey horizontally-striped bathing suit that covers everything above his shins and forearms.

Theater

 * The Music Man (a play produced in the 1950s but taking place in 1912), is filled with old timeyness including the main plot involving a marching band. For example, the song Ya Got Trouble contains such old timey references as medicinal wine, Dan Patch, knickerbockers, "tailor-mades" (i.e. factory-produced cigarettes), Sen-Sen, ragtime, Captain Billy's Whiz Bang (a magazine that actually began publication 1919) and the Spanish-American War slogan "Remember the Maine."

Music

 * The Beatles used old timey imagery during at least two periods in their career. They wore Edwardian jackets during their early period, such as when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.  Three years later, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band presented a flood of old timeyness  ranging from vintage marching band uniforms to music hall-style song introductions.
 * Paul McCartney has often returned to old timeyness in his post-Beatles career. One example is the music video for Say Say Say in which he and Michael Jackson pose as snake oil salesmen.

Restaurants

 * Wendy's used old timeyness in its early brand marketing. Their logo still features turn of the century-style graphics and the phrase "Old Fashioned Hamburgers".  The tables in most Wendy's restaurants are decorated with a pattern replicating advertisements from late 19th century newspapers.
 * A&W Root Beer used a similar ad branding strategy in the 1970s, including the phrase "A&W old time root beer, yes sir!" Advertisements featured a man with a straw porkpie hat, handlebar mustache, and suspenders holding an over-sized mug.  More recently, A&W has begun marketing cream soda in old timey bottles.
 * Ground Round also used old timeyness in the 1970's, decorating its restaurants accordingly and providing free bowls of dry roasted peanuts for customers. Some locations had booths where patrons could view silent movies.