03 December 2018

Where are old people going to live?

It used to be that old people lived wherever they lived – and that was that.

Foothill Acres Nursing Homes, Neshanic, New Jersey, circa 1965 - Advertising PostcardBeginning a century or so ago you could move into a retirement community for as long as you could stand it (or stand up), then would be whisked away to an old age home.

Now there are choices. So many choices you could have multiple strokes just thinking about them.

Image result for golden girlsThere’s staying put (aka aging in place) where you don’t go anywhere and you’re taken care of by people or robots. Or you can move to one of thousands of adult communities that are no different than old-fashioned retirement communities except they have internet and yoga mats. Or you can buy/rent a house/condo with a few friends and do a Golden Girls/Boys/Boys & Girls thing.  Or you can buy a motor home, drive it around for a few years until you get bored, then park it somewhere. Or you can purchase a ready-made tiny house and have a helicopter dump it in one of your children’s backyards.  

The possibilities are endless until the end.

Of course, there are social scientists galore wondering what old people are  gonna do, loads of business people trying to figure out what crazy products and services they can sell you, along with all sorts of thinkers and tinkerers hoping to convince you that you need to be digitally connected to something-or-other and be monitored 24/7 - or the rest of the world won’t know when you die.

You’ve heard the horror stories. You could be lying dead for fifteen minutes before anybody finds you.

If I get old enough to be really old, I’ll probably just want a bed, a chair on a porch, and a tree to look at.

16 November 2018

Hallmark Moment Syndrome

Whoops. Chuck got sucked into a sappy Christmas commercial. Let's hope it's not some new chronic condition (known in psychology journals as Hallmark Moment Syndrome).

I'm posting it because it's for a department store in the U.K. - so you won't be seeing it on this side of the pond.

06 November 2018

Knock The Vote

Today is voting day. I decided to wait until the whole mess was (almost) over before blogging this spot:


Many folks are upset about it. I get it. It’s ageist. It’s stupid. It’s inaccurate.

imageThe American Society on Aging has called on Nail Communications to suspend an ageist advertising campaign that began Sept. 24 as part of ACRONYM’s “Knock the Vote” initiative.

On another level it’s (I’m guessing) effective advertising. Some tongue-in-cheek variant of negative advertising.

I hope all late-teen to twenty-somethings will laugh, realize it’s silly, and vote.

Do the ends justify the means? That’s too deep a question for shallow me to answer.

Come to your own conclusions.

09 October 2018

AARP & NostraChuckus

crystalIt’s been a banner year for NostraChuckus, famed Soothsayer of The Mundane and The Obvious.  However, even he could not have predicted such a banner year for himself:

09 January 2018
2018: The Year of Big
… Advertisers will finally follow simple common sense, something a certain seer has been urging for years …

26 MARCH 2018
NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense has spot-on prognosticated what would come true in 2018

02 JULY 2018
The Year Of Big Gets Bigger
NostraChuckus, famed soothsayer of the obvious, continues to amaze with his humdrum prognostications…

19 SEPTEMBER 2018
NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense vs. Apple Watch
… While both offerings are worthy, we prefer The Crystal Ball because it can actually tell the future of the Apple Watch …

Now this:

AARP to Take On Ageism, Enlists Former Ad Executive Cindy Gallop
Image result for wall street journal logo… Madison Avenue has long been obsessed by youth and its workforce tends to be weighted toward the younger generation…

“The ad industry is an extremely ageist industry,” said Ms. Gallop, who added that she plans on pressuring agencies into hiring more older people…”

“When you have older people creating, producing and approving ads, the problem is easily solved,” Ms. Gallop added …

NostraChuckus in 2003 (via The Wayback Machine):

Advertising to Baby Boomers: Back into the Fold
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.

Truth is, you can analyze marketing fodder all day and night, read countless books about marketing to Baby Boomers, attend advertising and marketing conventions around the world, and soak up everything all the experts have to say. Much of what is out there is valuable and useful, some practically required reading, others instructive and illuminating. But if you plan on implementing a creative strategy, and turn it over to a different generation of advertising professionals - you'll forfeit the natural sensibilities required to generate vital campaigns.

The book of prophesy © 2005/2007:

Intro and First Chapter (PDF)

NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense is getting hazy now……

Image result for crystal ball gif

19 September 2018

NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense vs. Apple Watch

2018-09-19_133828
A quick comparison of NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense and the new Apple Watch:

crystal apple

Our Pick: NostraChuckus’ Crystal Ball of Common Sense

While both offerings are worthy, we prefer The Crystal Ball because it can actually tell the future of the Apple Watch:

image_thumb1NostraChuckus in 2014:
Never Leave The Hospital! Health Tech Wearables, Implanted Chips
… Wired ‘n Monitored will create a whole new disorder for the mental health industry. Having devices wrapped around you or implanted that constantly flash and beep will cause over-the-top anxiety.

Image result for washington post logoWashington Post in 2018:
What cardiologists think about the Apple Watch’s heart-tracking feature
.. Some doctors said that including heart-monitoring tools in such a popular consumer product could trigger unnecessary anxiety and medical visits.

Modern (and ancient) tech gadgets can be helpful – but picking the right one for you is often a challenge. Do you want to know all about the present? Or the future?

It all comes down to personal preferences.