Maturialism....

I ran across this word in an article, rolled my eyes, and bookmarked it for some sort of comment.

But lucky for me my friend Dick Stroud beat me to it, so I don't have to waste my time blogging this one. Just read his blog.

Barbies 'n Baseball

The Louisville Slugger Museum has an odd but smart (at least marketing-wise) exhibit going, Barbies & Baseball:

Acclaimed contemporary photographer David Levinthal creates stunning portraits using two great American icons - Barbie dolls and baseball player figurines. The miniature models come alive on big photo prints, bursting with color and drama.

Baby Boomers are inveterate museum-goers. But there are so many museums. The brilliance of this particular summer exhibit is simply this:

If I were driving through Louisville with my more-significant-than-I-am Other and said, "Hey! Let's go to the Louisville Slugger Museum!" I imagine I'd get some eye-rolls, some disgusted sighing, a "...what's a louisville slugger…"

But if I added, "And guess what? They're having a Barbie exhibit! Lots of Barbie stuff and baseball! I don't quite get the connection -- maybe there's a Barbie baseball team or something -- it's hard to keep up with all these expansion teams .... but Barbie! Lots of Barbie! You remember … the doll!" I bet we'd be making a stop — and I probably wouldn't have to hear too much about it afterwards.

Barbies & Baseball

Burgeoning Baby Boomer Blog

Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers author and pundit Brent Green has finally gotten around to blogging.

The pic on the site is an apt metaphor, for Brent isn't afraid to take on all sorts of subjects - including Ward Churchill, Joe Queenan, Joe Klein, and silly (but damaging) editorials in various newspapers and magazines.

I wouldn't reduce Brent Green to simply a Baby Boomer apologist, for the Baby Boomer Generation, while getting blasted in the press over the last few years, really needs no apologists. From Brent's blog:

A few years ago, TIME magazine trumpeted "America's Best: Science & Medicine." Of 16 people profiled, only one is not a boomer. The finest neurosurgeon, the most respected biomedical engineer, academia's leading paleontologist … all boomers. Two ardent boomers led teams to decipher the 3.1 billion biochemical units of human DNA - perhaps the greatest scientific achievement of the 21st century - also heralded on the cover of TIME.

Mr. Green's trenchant book and blog, along with articles such as Carolyn Said's recent piece in the San Francisco Chronicle and Leonard Steinhorn's forthcoming book, "The Greater Generation In Defense of the Baby Boomer Legacy," have and will correct abominations in the media.

Looking for a Few Good Boomer Marketers

Frederic Serriere and Antoine Girault head up the popular multi-language, international news conglomerate thematuremarket.com (under the umbrella corporation SeniorStrategic Network) This is the place to go for vital info on the worldwide 50+ market.

And they're ready to expand. You can be a part of it. Check out what it takes to become the editor-in-chief (and more) of your country's online edition.

Rubbing yourself and smiling.

I first saw The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty as a series of print ads (was it in the Oprah mag?) and loved it. No doubt about it — real beauties. The women exuded intelligence, confidence, sensuality. Great concept. (And if I may be a bit of a male pig: So many women, so little time…)

Then I saw the TV version. It doesn't work. The same women as in the print campaign (I'm pretty sure they were the same) stand there and … I'm not sure what … rub themselves and smile.

What were they told to do? Obviously, it was explained to them that they shouldn't be autoerotic about it. And there's a thin line between autoeroticism and sensuality - so I'm betting they were told not to be too sensual.

So what's left? Itching? They look like they're itching. Itching and smiling. Nervously itching and smiling.

Whatever it is, it's awkward and contrived. "Don't be sexual, don't be sensual - just rub yourself for no particular reason and look like you're enjoying it for no particular reason."

This is another one of those over-branded, over coordinated campaigns.

Of course, you couldn't have them smoothing lotion on their skins. How trite. How mundane. And the worst part -- no advertising awards.

Now I can't look at the print campaign without getting queasy. It reminds me of the silly commercial.

An A for the print campaign.

A++ for defining beauty for what it really is.

A++ for defining female beauty as something that gets better with age.

C- for getting sucked into empty branding techniques.

http://campaignforrealbeauty.com/

Does Reality Sell Beauty?