Madison Avenue in the Reagan Twilight

The sun is barely up when the old man taps on the McDonald’s door. “We’re open in a few minutes, sir,” a young countergirl answers. The old man points to the McDonald’s cap he is carrying. He is the “new kid” the restaurant has just hired. With a giggle the girl lets him in, and for most of what remains of the commercial, we watch him take orders and serve customers. He is the picture of efficiency and good humor, prompting the girl working beside him to ask, “Are you sure you never did this before?” At the end of the commercial, we follow the old man back to his small, single-story house. “I don’t know how they ever got along without me,” he proudly tells his wife.<...