The notoriety of Grace Metalious and Alan Freed came at a time of renewed economic growth and prosperity in the United States. With more disposable income than they had enjoyed in decades, American consumers responded enthusiastically to the wide range of products that advertisers promised would make their lives easier and more enjoyable. The search for the good life propelled middle-class families from cities to the suburbs. At the same time, a postwar baby boom added millions of children to the population and created a market to supply them with goods from their infancy and childhood to their teenage years.