Toyota Venza Commercials Remind Us We’re Cool

First, I got a Google+ invitation before my kids even knew what it was (ha!) and then came the revolutionary Toyota Venza commercials that show how people our age are still going strong. July has been a great month to remind me that we can still be cool in middle age.

These excellent Toyota Venza commercials show how we middle-aged consumers (you know, the ones who actually buy most of the cars anyway) are out living a full, active life while the grown kids worry about them as they age. It's actually pretty hilarious.

Salon magazine said this about the ads: "The message is shockingly subversive: young is no longer cool. Cool is no longer cool. 'You know what's cool?' says these ads, 'Being a grownup.' "

What I love is that the Toyota Venza commercials are a step in the right direction toward smashing the stereotypes of old age (of course, in doing so it sets up a new stereotype about young people, but that's a whole 'nother article).

Watching Toyota Venza commercials might even contribute to your well-being since research suggests that exposing yourself to positive stereotypes about aging can have health benefits:

"Older individuals who were subliminally exposed to negative age stereotypes demonstrated heightened cardiovascular response to stress (induced by mathematical and verbal challenges), whereas those who were subliminally exposed to positive age stereotypes demonstrated reduced cardiovascular response to stress."  — Stereotype Embodiment: A Psychosocial Approach to Aging by Becca Levy 

Here are the ads, starting with my favorite about social networks:

And then there is the ad that shows the parents out riding horses (which is definitely how I'm spending my middle-age years.)

The Toyota Venza commercial that shows the parents out having fun while the moved-back-home son worries about them:

And, finally, the ad that shows how misguided a daughter's idea about her parents' physical limitations really is: