Irony

I read the online edition of The New York Times all the time.  So I’ve grabbed and linked to this or that article dozens of times.

In January 2008 I thought it fascinating that there were two articles over two days – one about marketing to Baby Boomers and one about diversity.  I blogged about it:

Diversity = Productivity
Irony: The article with answers to how advertising can reach Baby Boomers doesn’t mention advertising or Baby Boomers, while the article that doesn't really have much to say on the subject is all about subject.

Again, it’s happened.  Stuart Elliott’s piece is good – but there’s nothing new here:

The Older Audience Is Looking Better Than Ever
For decades, older consumers were largely shunned by marketers because they were deemed less wealthy, less likely to try new products and less willing to change brands. Campaigns directed at them were described dismissively as made for the “Geritol generation.”

The Introduction to my book (1st Edition May 2005) is subtitled “The Geritol Syndrome” – and available for free from my publishers, Paramount Market Publishing:

Advertising to Baby Boomers (Introduction) (PDF)

In the book and on this blog I’ve talked at length about Grandparents and media and media planners and brand-switching and just about everything else in the NYT piece.  Here’s something from The Kansas City Star where I was interviewed along with Hallmark Channel CEO Henry Schleiff – and we’re discussing all the same things.

But a more interesting piece that really does have to do with  marketing/advertising to baby boomers was in the NYT a few days before:

Generation B
by Michael Winerip
They Feel Your Losses
“The boomers’ experience, their values and their work ethic make them worth it,” Ms. Ringer said. “They’re good at performing gracefully under pressure.”

Read this recent post and now I can pretty much repeat what I said a year ago:

Irony: The article with answers to how advertising can reach Baby Boomers doesn’t mention advertising, while the article that doesn't really have anything new to say on the subject is all about subject.

New Blogs, Businesses, Resources

50+ marketing is exploding worldwide.

That’s a cliché-ridden statement I’ve been wanting to use for years.  Finally I can. 

Kim Walker of Silver Group Asia is blogging:

Observations, insights and innovations that connect with the 50+ market.
We INFORM with unique research, data and insights … We ADVISE on strategy and increase understanding through training and speeches …We help CONNECT to the market through relevant and targeted programs and media

Read an interview with Kim Walker on Brent Green’s blog – then download Kim’s keynote "The Rise of the Silver Surfers" presented to the iMedia Brand Summit in Kota Kinabalu, E Malaysia.

Ad Nauseam’s Christopher Simpson (Canada) takes a professorial slant with his new blog.  That’s because he is a professor.  And a seasoned all around creative:

On Editing and Writing
Dedicated to clarity, one sentence at a time
Perhaps it’s irrational, but I am tired of people telling me to attain a state of consciousness the means to which only they can provide.

(Great resource, Kit – and that appraisal  is coming from a Bloviating Pleonast.)

Martin Diano of The Baby Boomer [Knowledge Center] is collecting experts for his Boomer Authority project:

Boomer Authority
A Question and Answer Resource for the Baby Boomer Generation - Gain access to a community of professionals and organizations for free timely advice!

My friends in The Netherlands, Martijn de Haas and Arjan in't Veld, are involved in a new agency – and a new web site/blog.  Martijn told me that there might be English language versions soon. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

And Vince Vassolo, gerontologist/ad man and self-proclaimed Head Boomer, is blogging:

Baby Boomer Marketing Blog
Boomers are bright, opinionated and socially connected, so they’ll decide what your brand means rather than having you or some trendsetter define it for them.

As I reach my late-middle 50s…

An amusing, too truthful piece by Michael Winerip of The New York Times:

Aging by Megabyte 
AS I reach my late-middle 50s, I am, for the first time, feeling old. I don’t mean physically old. I have aches and pains, but I’ve been blessed. My health has been good … I have four children ages 14 to 20, and once they hit the teenage years, a primary purpose in their lives has been to tear their once-godlike Dad down to bite-size.

It reminded me of a silly thing I wrote a handful of years ago:

The Slobberer
Without a hint of fear she reached up and pulled down on the sides of my mouth. "Ahhh," she said with a nod. "You drool."

"What?"

“You drool."

"...When?"

"At night."

"But...old people drool."

"Yes."

I twitched and tried not to shudder. "Are you sure? I'm not even in my late fifties yet. I’m in my … earlier late fifties.”

And in my book Advertising to Baby Boomers (2007):

***

More from Michael Winerip:

Spring would arrive, we’d be out at the ball field once again, I’d be hitting them flies, and the three boys would be edging toward me, yelling, “Remember when you used to hit them far, Dad? Remember that, Dad?”

Why couldn’t it have been…?

A couple of Depend spots – click the picture to view:

The creative is good, actually a surprise. But what isn’t a surprise – the creative is good because they’re directed by Errol Morris (born 1948):

Kimberly-Clark Launches Largest Campaign Ever For Its Depend Brand
…One of the key elements of the new campaign is a certain level of authenticity -- showcasing real people, since this is such a real issue for so many people…

Sounds like lessons from my book.

But why aren’t these spots sending you to the web site?  There are dozens of previous posts that talk about this. Here’s just one:

Snake Oil In Cyberspace
For the umpteenth time …
The Most Effective Marketing/Advertising Model For Reaching Baby Boomers: What is now called traditional advertising pushing you to an age-friendly, informative product/services web site.

I guess what upsets me about this campaign is not the campaign itself.  I like it.  I see people around my age – they’re entertaining, loose, funny. I’m wondering what the payoff will be. What a letdown.  

Why couldn’t it have been a car?  Laundry soap?  A computer?  A razor?  Anything but some age-related malady:

Use only as directed
By Joseph P. Kahn
There were glossy pitches for Centrum Cardio multivitamins, AARP supplemental medicare insurance plans, Visine … Contour Meter diabetes testers (now available in five vibrant colors!), Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel foot insoles, Flomax (for urinary and prostate problems), Wal-Mart prescription-drug services, Children's Benadryl Allergy and Sinus Liquid, Centrum Silver vitamin tablets, Boniva (Sally Field playing a nimble game of Twister with her granddaughter this time), Tena Serenity Pads bladder protection, and One-a-Day 50 Plus vitamins.

So the Depend campaign gets an A for creative, C- for marketing. 

And looking at the big picture – let’s hope that ad agencies will see these spots and realize they’re missing out not hiring people over fifty to create campaigns for just about any product or service.

Or should clients put pressure on their agencies? 

An excerpt from Advertising to Baby Boomers:

JWT BOOM GOES BELLY-UP

JWT BOOM, an agency specializing in the 40+ Market, closed last month.

This is where I link to a news story – but that’s the story.  There is no story.  I can’t find a thing about it in the trades or any other news sources.  Find it for me.

Why did JWT BOOM go belly-up?  I have my own theories, some I’ll share and some I’ll keep to myself.

Snippets from an email received last week:

… I also meant to tell you that you apparently have really good sources. We finally heard from **** ******* that JWT Boom is closed as of today …  Apparently JWT is closing all of its specialty agencies … And I heard it from you first!

Key phrase above: “specialty agencies”

In 2004, JWT opened its ‘specialty agency’ JWTMMG (later known as JWT BOOM).  From my book published in early 2005:

 

Was JWT BOOM simply a victim the worldwide financial crisis? Maybe, maybe not.  I’ve talked about Baby Boomers and the economic collapse in a blog post last year and in an online presentation:

2008 Review: A PowerPoint

An interesting article last month in Ad Age:

General Mills Thrives on Increased Marketing Spending
"When I started here in 1983, we didn't do much advertising to baby boomers," he said, adding that boomers are eating more cereal as they age. "We're targeting them directly now."

Christopher Simpson brings us up to date on Ad Nauseam, citing a recent study by NeuroFocus:

Oh, so now they're turning to Boomers
If nothing else good comes from the recent economic crisis, at least we have the faint hope that advertising can become more adult.

And rumor has it that another Boomer-focused company underneath the WPP umbrella is about to kick the bucket.

More from the email:

…  Ad Age says today that the Chicago JWT office is closing. I have a feeling that JWT is not long for this world …

JWT GOES BELLY-UP.  Hmmm.  I bet that news would make the trades.