Food fights, Balloons and Dancing Gorillas

“Every time I swear I'll never again be shocked or saddened by a TV commercial ruining a treasured rock anthem, another proves me wrong.”

I could’ve said that. But someone else did first. Read Jim DeRogatis’ piece in the Chicago Sun-Times:

Punk pitchmen
First, Iggy Pop had a lust for cruise life, and now what do i get from The Buzzcocks? An AARP ad ... No matter what the genre -- pop-punk or hip-hop, classic rock or dance-pop -- the best bands work long and hard to create a complete identity, considering every aspect of how their songs are written, recorded, packaged and sold. When they sell their music to a commercial, they cede control to an advertising director, and they take their chances.

I’ve blogged about this numerous times: here and here and here and here.

In the 1st Edition of my book published over two years ago I also talk about it. In the 2nd Edition paperback (it’ll be out soon) I prattle on and on about it some more – and in one section, with a different slant:

Purely anecdotal: I’m watching TV. I hear a tune I haven’t heard in thirty-five, forty years. My mind goes off into the ether. “Wow. What a great song. I’d forgotten all about it. I had the album. The cover was blue . . . And there were a bunch of other great songs on that album. What the hell were they? I can’t remember . . . I wonder if I can get it on Amazon. There’s probably only a compilation of his hits, or a boxed set. But I just want the CD of the album. I’ll have to remember to check the next time I’m online ..”

By then, the commercial is over. In fact, probably three other commercials are over. I have no idea what the product is, or what any of the other products are. *

As far as AARP …

I just don’t know what to do with their ad campaigns. The Party/Buzzcocks one makes no sense. I haven’t a clue what the point of it is. I hope Mr. DeRogatis’ take on it isn’t correct - or I’m staying home and locking the doors and windows if I ever retire:

"The message of the AARP ad is that life will be one big, happy birthday party for retiring Baby Boomers, complete with food fights, balloons and dancing gorillas."

Here’s another AARP ad that has its heart in the right place, understands Baby Boomers wanting to leave a legacy to their grandchildren (again, I’ve talked about this numerous times) - but the spot is so mannered, so hokey, so "Let's put adult thoughts and words into the mouths of children - it'll be so touching and so profound." Good idea, bad execution:

* If you must know, it was Donovan's "Catch The Wind."

Advertisers Zeroing in on Wrong Audience

Richard L. Conner, editor and publisher of Pennsylvania’s Times Leader, pens a piece that sounds like it was lifted from my book:

Advertisers zeroing in on wrong audience
Advertisers want dudes, though — not boomers ... And dudes fall within the 18-to34-year-old category that advertisers covet. Actually, dudes are near the precipice of the group, closer to 35 than to 18, which means that when they step over the 34-year-old line, they fall from favor. Unless you happen to be selling Depends … The biggest advertising buys are made out of agencies in cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles — all places where hip young people live … These hipsters at the big ad agencies are targeting themselves when they should be going after Mom and Dad.

I’d sue The Times Leader for plagiarism – except most of what I say in my book is pretty much common sense – just like in Mr. Conner’s article. (Suing for plagiarizing common sense … common sense tells me that might not fly.)

***

See if you can make it to Walter Kirn’s commentary in The New York Times Magazine before it vanishes behind the Orange Curtain:

Here, There and Everywhere
I was standing in an airport security line when I spotted an advertisement for Rolodexes printed across the bottom of the tub into which I was about to set my shoes. The ad bewildered me for a couple of reasons. First, I didn’t expect to see it there (even though, by now, I should have, since researchers estimate that the average city dweller is exposed to 5,000 ads per day, up from 2,000 per day three decades ago). The second and greater mystery, however, was why a major company would want me to associate its product with the experience of being searched. Rolodex — the official corporate sponsor of airport paranoia.

So ... in show biz parlance, what does it mean when something 'lays an egg'?

Grandboomers

Kind of a yucky name, Grandboomers. I’ve heard worse, and shall spare you.

But as with just about everything, Baby Boomers are redefining what grandparents are supposed to be – and do. Such troublemakers…

I didn’t quite get to this subject in the 2nd Edition paperback of my book (due out in about a month), but it’s quite a phenomenon. Marketers are now targeting Baby Boomer grandparents for all sorts of things. GRAND Magazine has ads for the normal fare (vacations, pharmaceuticals) but you’ll also find ones for children's toys, books, and educational products (lots of them) — and female arousal fluids. I’ve yet to see any ads for knitting needles or support hose. The magazine is also running a Sexiest Celebrity Grandparent contest – not such an oxymoron if you check out my previous post.

A few months ago I blogged about a campaign that doesn’t target Baby Boomers but thinks it does, and linked to this article in The Houston Chronicle:

Grand-scale grandparents
"Boomers think their grandkids are too programmed, and they're looking to stir things up."

Over the weekend I stumbled on this piece in The Miami Herald:

AT THE AMERICAN BABY FAIRE IN FORT LAUDERDALE, GRANDPARENTS WILL GET SPECIAL TREATMENT

The article is a bit shticky – but you know how newspaper folks are every so often (usually on weekends) – they get bored with the facts and try to be funny.

And what facts they are for marketers and advertisers. Take heed.

Best Commercial Not On The Superbowl

Because it's from the UK.

AND THE WINNER IS ....

The Dove Pro-Age campaign.

(But where are the peace signs, Baby Boomers acting like idiotic teenagers, and 60s Rock in the music bed?)

What do the models think about all this? Read about it in The Daily Mail:

The artist and alternative therapist, who lives in London, said: "Women my age are repeatedly told to fight the ageing process and so we start to believe there is age limit to certain things.

"Eventually we give into this view and begin to see, feel and look older. However, I know many women in their 50's and 60's who look amazing and I applaud their tenacity.

"We are, after all, children of the 1960's, a generation determined to achieve anything. It really is time to change the limited view presented by the media and I'm proud to be part of it."

Athena Uslander, aged 51, who owns a commercial bakery in Chicago, said: "People just see us as over the hill, but that's just not true.

"You can travel, you have disposable income and the whole world is open to you when you're older, so I think it's just the beginning of life."

Mirinete Morrison, aged 54, from London who has three daughters aged 18, 24 and 26, said: "If your heart is beautiful, your skin is beautiful, you are beautiful."

Neighborhood Design, Universal Design

Bob Moos of the Dallas Morning News has been on a housing tear with his last few articles.

The first one is about Baby Boomers fashioning their own neighborhood communities:

Cohousing catching on in U.S.
Cohousing communities aren't cookie-cutter projects. Each is unique. Prospective residents are intimately involved in the planning, though they may rely on an architect and developer to handle the technical aspects of design and construction. Projects usually consist of 20 to 30 households … The latest twist to the nascent trend is cohousing exclusively for people 55 and older.

And it's a twist on what Brent Green talks about in Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers. But I'm not getting into it here. Read the book or track him down and ask him.

The second article is about universal design and aging in place:

Couple's house is home for good
Incorporating universal design in a home under construction is far less expensive than modifying it later … "Why not spend a few thousand more to build an age-friendly bath now and save yourself the $20,000 to retrofit it later?"

This is a big issue with just about everybody in the housing industry. I wrote something about it not too long ago - and spoke about universal design at last year's NAHB convention.

UD is coming. It's just too early for most Baby Boomers to consider it. However, many are missing the boat now if they happen to be designing their forever dream house. Without some serious nods to universal design, in ten years they might find themselves living in their forever nightmare house.