Beginning in 2003, my business blog for Creative Services, Copywriting, Consulting, and Speaking. You'll find all sorts of information about the current trends in advertising and marketing to this unwieldy, diverse demographic.
Whoops. Chuck got sucked into a sappy Christmas commercial. Let's hope it's not some new chronic condition (known in psychology journals as Hallmark Moment Syndrome).
I'm posting it because it's for a department store in the U.K. - so you won't be seeing it on this side of the pond.
Today is voting day. I decided to wait until the whole mess was (almost) over before blogging this spot:
Many folks are upset about it. I get it. It’s ageist. It’s stupid. It’s inaccurate.
The American Society on Aging has called on Nail Communications to suspend an ageist advertising campaign that began Sept. 24 as part of ACRONYM’s “Knock the Vote” initiative.
On another level it’s (I’m guessing) effective advertising. Some tongue-in-cheek variant of negative advertising.
I hope all late-teen to twenty-somethings will laugh, realize it’s silly, and vote.
Do the ends justify the means? That’s too deep a question for shallow me to answer.
Come to your own conclusions.
09 January 2018
2018: The Year of Big
… Advertisers will finally follow simple common sense, something a certain seer has been urging for years …
26 MARCH 2018
NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense has spot-on prognosticated what would come true in 201802 JULY 2018
The Year Of Big Gets Bigger
NostraChuckus, famed soothsayer of the obvious, continues to amaze with his humdrum prognostications…19 SEPTEMBER 2018
NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense vs. Apple Watch
… While both offerings are worthy, we prefer The Crystal Ball because it can actually tell the future of the Apple Watch …
Now this:
AARP to Take On Ageism, Enlists Former Ad Executive Cindy Gallop
… Madison Avenue has long been obsessed by youth and its workforce tends to be weighted toward the younger generation…
“The ad industry is an extremely ageist industry,” said Ms. Gallop, who added that she plans on pressuring agencies into hiring more older people…”
“When you have older people creating, producing and approving ads, the problem is easily solved,” Ms. Gallop added …
NostraChuckus in 2003 (via The Wayback Machine):
Advertising to Baby Boomers: Back into the Fold
The Giant Leap: There had better be a minor revolution in the creative end of the advertising industry. Talented men and women in their late forties and fifties need to be brought back into the fold if you want to reach us. This includes copywriters, graphic artists, producers, directors, and creative directors.
Truth is, you can analyze marketing fodder all day and night, read countless books about marketing to Baby Boomers, attend advertising and marketing conventions around the world, and soak up everything all the experts have to say. Much of what is out there is valuable and useful, some practically required reading, others instructive and illuminating. But if you plan on implementing a creative strategy, and turn it over to a different generation of advertising professionals - you'll forfeit the natural sensibilities required to generate vital campaigns.
The book of prophesy © 2005/2007:
NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense is getting hazy now……
A quick comparison of NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense and the new Apple Watch:
While both offerings are worthy, we prefer The Crystal Ball because it can actually tell the future of the Apple Watch:
NostraChuckus in 2014:
Never Leave The Hospital! Health Tech Wearables, Implanted Chips
… Wired ‘n Monitored will create a whole new disorder for the mental health industry. Having devices wrapped around you or implanted that constantly flash and beep will cause over-the-top anxiety.
Washington Post in 2018:
What cardiologists think about the Apple Watch’s heart-tracking feature
.. Some doctors said that including heart-monitoring tools in such a popular consumer product could trigger unnecessary anxiety and medical visits.
Modern (and ancient) tech gadgets can be helpful – but picking the right one for you is often a challenge. Do you want to know all about the present? Or the future?
It all comes down to personal preferences.
Retail's new niche: Aging baby boomers
The number of senior citizens in the United States is expected to nearly double by 2050, creating a fast-growing niche for retailers and manufacturers.
Odd sentence. What is an ‘aging’ baby boomer? I guess one who isn’t dead.
How about ‘fast-growing niche’? I guess in the grand scheme of things, thirty-odd years is a nanosecond.
The Baby Boomer Market is a ‘niche’? I guess the Pacific Ocean is a niche.
Executives at Gillette have for decades defined shaving as a rite of passage … in recent years, executives have begun to see another milestone emerge in their customers’ lives: the moment when sons begin shaving their aging fathers.
Smart that Gillette understands the difference between 50-70 year-olds and an 80-100 year-olds. Few advertisers do.
A touching, sweet video:
… At Best Buy, the focus is increasingly on aging Americans who live at home …
Step one: Make it easier for adults to keep tabs on their aging parents. The company’s Assured Living program, introduced a year ago, uses a network of sensors to alert caretakers to changes in routine.
Best Buy’s acquisition of GreatCall … (has) two Jitterbug phones — one with a touch screen, the other a flip phone.
I’m sixty-seven. If I walk into a Best Buy and say, “I’m looking for a smartphone,” and the salesperson steers me to a Jitterbug, I’d turn around and walk out. If I walk in and say, “I’m looking for a smartphone for my father” – I would be happy if he/she steers me to a Jitterbug.
We’ll see.
