• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 21, 2020

One short TikTok video of an Idaho Falls, Idaho man cruising on his skateboard down a highway singing to Fleetwood Mac’s "Dreams"-- while drinking a big bottle of Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry juice -- can reveal a lot of marketing spin.

Some 51 million views and almost 9 million likes later and Fleetwood Mac album “Rumours” (released Feburary 1977) has ascended again into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 list. Yes, 43 years later.

Ocean Spray knows a good thing -- marketing-wise -- when they see it. It gave the man, Nathan Apodaca (a.k.a. 420doggface208 on TikTok), who lives in an RV, a new cranberry red-colored Nissan pickup truck stocked with juice.

So take your nostalgic video, TV show, movie, music, art (or maybe sugary/fruit drink) and give it a new ride -- so to speak -- for your fans, for your advertisers.

Top TV series back when “Rumours” was a big deal? For the 1977-1978 season, it was, in order: “Laverne & Shirley,” “Happy Days,” “Three’s Company,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “All in the Family,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Alice,” “M.A.S.H.,” “One Day at a Time” and “How the West was Won.”

In response, band members Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks made their own versions of the video -- a tribute to skateboard riding Nathan Apodaca (a.k.a. 420doggface208 on TikTok).

No surprise here. We have seen lots of media nostalgia scoring success -- reunions for special episodes featuring casts of “Parks & Recreation” and “30 Rock.” Plus, there was a recent stage reading of a famed “West Wing” episode to drive this year’s voting. Other similar show efforts will follow.

There are total reboots of classic series in recent years: “Fuller House” (Netflix); “MacGyver” (CBS); “American Idol” (ABC); “The Conners” (nee “Roseanne”), ABC; and “Gilmore Girls” (Netflix), among others.

Next year, there are even more. “Saved by the Bell,” “Walker, Texas Ranger.” “Punky Brewster,” “Ren and Stimpy,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Gossip Girl,” “Clueless” and “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

And then consider that reruns of older top shows have had strong runs on new streaming services. “Friends” and “The Office” were big sellers on relatively new TV platform Netflix. So important were these sitcoms that WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal, respectively, took them back for their own streaming services.

Nostalgia has always a big pull. But now, add in challenging economic times -- as well as possible death and disease from COVID-19.

So it’s not surprising to see a freedom-seeking, wind-in-his-hair, no-worries U.S. citizen rolling down the road drinking some sweet juice.

No mask, of course, because you wouldn’t be able to see him mouthing the words: “Now, here you go again. You say, you want your freedom. Well, who am I to keep you down?”