The power of stories

Another class I'm taking deals with the creation of social capital, and though this is a difficult concept to define, it mostly comes down to the quality and nature of certain relationships which allow groups of individuals to surpass their combined abilities. One of the most potent ways to form the requisite bonds should come as no surprise to any student of social psychology. Indeed, stories, it is my contention, have the power to bond humans in a very pervasive way.

This observation is useful here as it sheds light on a memory that came to me during class. I found information on this site online about a series of commercials that were aired in the 1990s for Taster's Choice instant coffee. The commercials revolved around the continuing and evolving storyline between a man and a woman with a shared taste for the instant coffee. If memory serves, the woman was originally introduced to the man as he visited her to borrow some coffee, and an initial spark of attraction was fanned over the course of this evolving mini-saga.

The point of this observation is that, in 30-second installments, this particular storyline consumed (mostly) women everywhere, and became the source of a tremendous amount of water cooler talk. Much like the puzzling ad we were shown in class of the young man embracing the older woman in the middle of a dinner party, this series of commercials drew its massive popularity from nothing more than a compelling storyline. A product as prosaic as instant coffee grounds was infused with associations drawn from a mysterious and sophisticated relationship between the two attractive protagonists, and the result was a cultural hit.

What's even more impressive is that I remember it (though, I must confess, I originally thought it was Maxwell House!).