Our requested changes were never heeded.

Email, expurgated, names deleted to protect the innocent and the guilty, italics/bold mine:

Dear Chuck,

.... I especially  bonded with what you spoke about in your presentation. Over the past three to four years, I've worked as a proofreader at *******,  ******, and ***** (major ad agencies).

Thanks to your lecture, I now know that Shirley Polykoff (and what an inserted "y" will do to Americanize what I presume was Poliakoff!) was the Clairol (campaign) innovator ....

On the subject of Baby Boomers,  I should tell you that when I walked into *****, the HR person greeted me with, "Oh, I think you're going to be very happy here -- we have people of all ages!" Nothing made me feel self-consciously older than that! However, the creative people still looked the same as they did at ***** and *****.

... So, 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! We'd talk about the copywriters writing ads like the one you mentioned and not realize that the target audience could not read it! We couldn't read it without blowing it up! Our requested changes were never heeded.

I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the presentation! I appreciated your clearcut, informative, amusing and candid delivery which was engrossing and compelling from start to finish. If you have more coming up, please let me know ...

Regards,
R---- D-----

---

Our requested changes were never heeded. 

I'm ... speechless.

August: Unused Ether

Stragglers and wannabes this month that never made it to these hallowed virtual pages.

And good for them. If they had, they'd be slummin':

Boomers seen as socially conscious, productive, and positively affecting society in recent poll

Peace Corps wish fulfilled years later

The new media dilemma

Downsizings force baby boomers to reinvent careers

Marketing Strategies Must Evolve as Businesses Grow

Baby Boomer Examiner

Will Boomers Usher in Brave New World?

New Website Called U.S.A.G.E. Addresses Entitlement Funding Crisis Raised by Movie I.O.U.S.A.

The Silver Market Phenomenon

Traditional advertising still key

Talbots shares leap 33% on signs of a turnaround

Is the Nation's Richest Market Virtually Ignored?

Baby boomer sites use niche ad sales strategy

Growing Bolder - The Unlikely Entrepreneur:

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July: Unused Ether

Don't Fear 65.

An expurgated email:

Hi Chuck,

I work for Bellevue-based (that'd be Washington State, Seattle area) Symetra Financial, and as we were developing our new ad campaign geared toward retirees, I came across your blog …

The Web site we’ve developed: www.dontfear65.com.

We’re focusing on empowerment and optimism, as opposed to fear mongering, and in doing so we hope to change the mindset around retirement ...

The theme of the campaign is highlighted in a couple of fun videos that depict seemingly ordinary Boomers before a crowd of retirees, rallying them to face turning 65 without fear:

http://www.dontfear65.com/#/videos/1/ 

http://www.dontfear65.com/#/videos/2/

Well … these folks are practically down the street from me – so I’d better be nice.

Actually, I got a kick out of the site.  The videos are cute.  I’ll take cute over pandering or condescending any day.

Gee. Free consulting. This is a big chunk of what I do for a living. Meaning, I don’t do it for free. Or, I do do it for free because I’m doing it now ...

A few observations and suggestions:

I’m not a big fan of flash microsites. This one is simple and inviting, however. 

The graphics and layout are fine for the landing – but deeper in, the wishy-washy color contrasts and spongy fonts are dreadful for older eyes.  Also, a good rule to remember: If you think you need a text resize widget, that means only one thing - the text is too small. Bump it and forget about a silly resizer.

Things look much better when you fly out of flash hell and land on a PDF.  True - it's kind of boring, not very fun and sexy in PDF-land (it could be with an extreme makeover), but at least my eyes don't hurt and my pointer isn't fumbling around trying to grab and pull on that flimsy scroll bar.   

Now I’ve done my good, neighborly deed for the day. Back to being cranky.

Congrats to Growing Bolder

The Growing Bolder Media Group is the winner of The 2008 Senior Vision Media Award, presented by the Florida Council on Aging:

I'm impressed. But not surprised.

Goodbye, Jukebox. Hello, Jennie Chin Hansen.

Back in May 2007 I was a guest on NPR’s Soundcheck, hosted by John Schaefer. The subject: AARP's new, much-touted and promoted Music Website. Also on the show was Emilio Pardo, AARP’s Chief Brand Officer.

To listen to the show click the tiny arrow on the left:

I wasn’t impressed with the AARP's offering – and blogged about it here:

Music for Grownups?
As is usually the case, AARP’s grab for Baby Boomers is an admixture of good intentions, some top-notch stuff – and cheesy, insulting schlock.

I’d link to it so you could form your own opinion, but …

It’s gone. The link in this press release now redirects your browser to their main entertainment page.

AARP's music site was a big dud. And for better or for worse, the company that powered the centerpiece of the microsite (AARP Jukebox) may be on its last legs.

Some of the other features are still up – but they’re not linked to anything on the AARP site as far as I can tell. Merely ethereal residue awaiting a virtual dusting.

The only feature I really liked has survived: Richard Gehr’s Music For Grownups columns.

I’ve blogged extensively about AARP, their advertising, and how they present themselves. The most recent post:

AARP's Chicken Coop Coup?
I hope they develop this ad into a high-profile campaign with more stories and history. If they do, a huge chunk of Baby Boomers might decide to join for reasons other than simply that 15% Discount Card.

Now AARP has a new president: Jennie Chin Hansen. I can only comment from an advertising/marketing/public relations perspective. Ms. Hansen is a great choice for AARP. Her background reflects what the heart and soul of AARP once was, and should be again:

Ms. Hansen teaches nursing at San Francisco State University. She holds an appointment as Senior Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco's Center for the Health Professions and consults with various foundations. She transitioned to teaching in 2005 after nearly 25 years as executive director of On Lok, Inc., a nonprofit family of organizations providing integrated and comprehensive primary and long-term care community based services in San Francisco.

Like I said about the Chicken Coop ad:

Call me callous, superficial, jaded, deeply character-flawed, whatever - but my initial reaction was: "Great Branding!"

While I think that their Divided We Fail project is rather silly and anemic, I hope Jennie Chin Hansen becomes ‘the face’ of AARP. Here’s the only video I can find of her. She’s down-to-earth and engaging. That’s very good news for AARP. Give it a minute or two - or skip ahead:

I’m hoping all their dumb commercials will fade away fast, and Jennie Chin Hansen and the Chicken Coop ad will now be the focus and inspiration for AARP's marketing, advertising, and PR.
———
Follow up, September 5, 2008: An article in The Washington Post about AARP. Ken Dychtwald makes some good points.

Actually, AARP isn't attracting Baby Boomers at the same rate as it did with previous 'turning fifty' generations. That's why there's all this hoopla and silliness and sacrificing of their core values. Interesting that the article has no mention of Jennie Chin Hansen.