I anticipated the now viral “Viva Young” Taco Bell ad with dread. As
someone who studies and promotes elder wisdom, I have hated just about
every ad I’ve seen that tries to portray “with-it oldsters” engaging in
hijinks. But Taco Bell’s Super Bowl ad was a genuine—and
pleasant—surprise. I’ve watched it many times now, and I like it. In
fact, I like it a lot.
It somehow manages to convey freedom and an openness to experience,
while using older actors who look, well, the way a lot of older people
look. It didn’t make them, or their situations on their wild night out,
cute stereotypes.
As the director of the ad, Tom Kuatz, put it: “I didn’t treat them
differently than I would 20-year-olds. That’s part of the concept.
Kissing was kissing on the mouth, dancing was dancing, doing the robot
was doing the robot like a 20-year-old would do.”
I’ve spent the past five years talking to the oldest Americans about,
among other things, how to make the most of the later years of life. And
what they told me is a lot like what this commercial manages to convey
in a very short time. For successful aging, they endorse principles like
this:
Become more of a free spirit
Over and over as they reflected on their lives, I heard versions of
“I’ve given up worrying” and “Why do people worry so much about
everything?” Indeed, from the vantage point of late life, many people
see fruitless rumination about the future as a young person’s game. As
one 83-year old put it: Don’t believe that worrying will solve or help
anything. It won’t. So stop it.
Focus on the short term rather than the long term
In the ad, the actors are clearly living in the moment. And that’s what
most of the elders we interviewed suggest: focus more on the short term.
As a 102-year old told me: The most important thing is one day at a
time. You can plan ahead but it doesn’t always work out.
Savor the moment
When people seek happiness, they often think about big-ticket items:
buying a house, finding a partner, having a child, getting a new job,
making more money. Elders tell us that a positive attitude depends on
thinking small: unexpected momentary pleasures that are experienced
intensely. Not everyone wants a wild night of clubbing as shown in the
commercial, but they do love to immerse themselves in the present.
Take risks
We think of older people as more conservative, but in terms of living
life to the fullest in old age, the opposite is the case. They tell
their peers (and those of us who will, if all goes well, be old someday)
to let go in the last third of life. A 94-year old laughed: My advice
about growing old? I’d tell people to find the magic!
Many elders described life past 65 as a “quest” and “an adventure.”
Their advice to us? Endorse embracing excitement, creativity, and
risk-taking well into our 70s, 80s, and beyond. And Taco Bell (whether
you like their food or not) managed to convey a bit of that spirit
during the Super Bowl.
