Baby Boomers as iPhone window … I mean, screen dressing.

A couple of friends in the 50-Plus marketing biz have been talking about an iPhone spot and its age-neutral emphasis.  I’m not sure I see what they see:

I saw this ad a few months ago, liked it, but said to myself, “Did they ever miss the mark. It should have been done from the grandmother’s point of view.”

The spot is part of a major campaign. All the principals are twenty-somethings. In this version it’s a young mother. Baby Boomers and older are simply window … I mean, screen dressing. Marginalized, as usual – especially when it’s a tech-driven product or service.  Remember this commercial from 2005?

I admired the iPhone spot for all the obvious reasons – well done, simple, focuses on the product capabilities – and because I see this scenario played out first-hand. Of course, I’m on the other end looking over shoulders - it's the new grandmother receiving videos of her very young grandchildren. Words can’t describe …

You could categorize this spot as age neutral - but as I’ve said, I wondered why they didn't reverse the scenario - a Baby Boomer grandmother receiving the video and forwarding it every which way (including to her mother). That's what really happens. Of course, a young mom will get excited when her baby starts walking, but it’s the grandmother who goes crazy and sends the video to everybody on her contacts list. 

This would also reinforce the fact that she can do it - which would be the point if you're trying to reach an older demo with primary or secondary age-neutral targeting. 

I guess wrinkly fingers holding this new, shiny gizmo might upset iPhone’s intended target market: twenty and thirty-somethings. 

Here's a spot I love, it’s packed with the emotional wallop I’m talking about, and they do it with humor. From New Zealand:

Growing Bolder to American Public Television

Those actively optimistic and fun folks at Growing Bolder must be more frenzied than ever. In September, American Public Television will be offering The Growing Bolder series to PBS outlets:

The Growing Bolder TV Show Goes National!
The Growing Bolder TV Show has been selected by American Public Television as one of the very few new programs for national distribution …  every PBS Station in the country will receive the show in high definition and many have already indicated that they’ll air it.

Famed Soothsayer NostraChuckus has been startling the world for years with his mundane prognostications – and Growing Bolder’s eventual syndication was divined but partially obscured in his crystal ball. It looked to him like a radio show, not a TV program. 

Listen to the Growing Bolder Interview - 2006. (But please excuse the host and his rather tepid, underplayed introduction. A bit of hyperbole would have been appreciated.)

Growing Bolder Press Kit for PBS stations, local and national underwriters.

Contact your local PBS station and request The Growing Bolder TV Show.

Advertising didn't die with the invention of the telephone.

Another trenchant post by The Ad Contrarian worthy of ripping off:

3 Oddball Ideas About Media
Think carefully about the numbers.  … YouTube viewership has reached 2 billion videos a day. This is absolutely mind-blowing. However, it doesn't  make YouTube an effective advertising medium. There are some media that are universally utilized but are not very good for advertising (e.g., the telephone.)

Along with these:

Is roiling ether the best place for advertising?

Snake Oil In Cyberspace

There’s this from 2005:

There is plenty of marketing and advertising to be done on the Web, and who knows what forms they will take over the next ten years. We'll all be surprised.

But remember this: Advertising didn't die with the invention of the telephone.

No News News Redux II

No News News Redux
I’m one of the few bloggers to take pride in bringing you no news news.  I’ve been offering my readers no news news for years …

No News News Flash #1:
A lot of times no news news happens because Dick Stroud beats me to it, what with his getting up earlier than I do.
Like today …

Email designs are neglecting the needs of Boomers

There’s nothing new here – and Dick knows it.  But he’s nicer than I am. 
A post from a few years ago about a presentation of mine:

Our requested changes were never heeded.
… It was especially amusing when your graphic for ***** came up and you noted that the copy was too small to read. You should have added that for some reason, more and more people are also using this light gray typeface (in the print ad you used as an example). My proofreading colleagues and I would get myopically and intellectually frustrated and rant about our changes not being acknowledged!

What I say when this slide pops up: “A fifty or older designer would not design an ad that he or she cannot see.”
The same holds true for DRM email.
No News News Flash #2:

In Praise of the Original Social Media: Good Ol' Television
Here's what I've learned from soaking in all that data: For all the buzz and obsession about social media, old media still rules our lives. (It's amazing how often we use new media to talk about what old media is up to.) And of all the old media, TV maintains the tightest grip on our collective consciousness.

I can’t link to all the posts here about this.  Just believe me – or search the blog for ‘television’ …
And my next post will be about TV.
Baby Boomers grew up watching television as a group.  I tell the story in a section of my speaking/consulting presentations.

So until the next time nothing new pops up in the news …

Diversity as a Strategic Advantage

Pretty good, nothing that new, but …

Diversity as a Strategic Advantage
It's about more than filling quotas, as such companies as Turner Broadcasting, IBM, and Pfizer have discovered
By Alaina Love
For companies to capitalize successfully on diversity, they must develop a robust and comprehensive strategic framework that not only considers how to attract and retain diverse employees…

There doesn’t seem to be any mention of age diversity.  I’ve been writing and blogging about that for seven years:

Back into the Fold (2003)
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.

Managing Age Diversity (2006)
"Advertising agencies are in the business of creativity. They are also in the business of managing human perceptions. It's therefore interesting that although many tactics are employed to ensure creativity, agencies have traditionally not cottoned on to the fact that a more diverse workforce, inclusive of non-discriminatory age policies, poses the potential for greater competitive advantage."

Rance Crain Makes Perfect Sense Yet Again (2007)
It makes all the sense in the world for ad makers (both clients and agencies) to be well-stocked with people who understand consumers, whether young people who fathom the mysteries of cyberspace, a good mixture of people who reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of our country, and, yes, even older people who understand the vitality and buying power of the great gorge of baby boomers overtaking our land.

Diversity = Productivity (2008)
Dr. Page asks practical ones like, “How can we all be more productive together?” The answer, he suggests, is in messy, creative organizations and environments with individuals from vastly different backgrounds and life experiences.

Memo to H.R: Older Brains = Smarter Brains (2010)
… As Strauch’s book makes clear … older workers can provide valuable brain power to an organization.

So – other than this glaring omission, a good piece.