In With the Old

The advertising industry has just discovered this, like, awesome group of consumers who are hyped to buy things such as Jeeps and sneaks and even drinks. They're called ... oh, what was that word again? It used to be a dirty thing to say in a marketing meeting. It's on the tip of my tongue—

Oh, yeah! Adults. That's it. Advertisers suddenly have realized that people in their 50s and up don't automatically vaporize. They, like, continue to live and breathe and buy things — things besides bran even. Who knew?

Until now, the folks who make consumer products just figured it was SMART to advertise to young people and STUPID to advertise to geezers — I mean adults — because geezers never tried anything new. They washed with Duz and drove Edsels and drank Postum, and by gosh by gum, they weren't ever going to switch.

This whole attitude goes back to the 1960s, when TV commercials were really coming into their own. Remember, back then it was, "Don't trust anyone over 30" — or even bother to notice "old" people's existence. So the young bucks selling advertising time on TV convinced the advertisers — or maybe it was vice versa — that they should only target people who were 18 to 49. Those were the only valuable viewers. They were the ones Nielsen was on the lookout for.

And for, oh, just about 50 years, everyone accepted that. It's as if no one had any parents or grandparents who had any material needs whatsoever. You were either 18 to 49 years old or off the map — probably asleep in a rocking chair, drinking Metamucil intravenously.

Then BAM! Or should I say BOOM, as in boomer? This past year, as if zapped by a granny with a Taser, the advertising world sat bolt upright and suddenly thought: Wait! Maybe older people are still human! Maybe they still need things for the house and clothes to wear and stuff to eat.

They'd make great consumers!

And so, according to an article by Bill Carter in The New York Times, now even companies such as Skechers and Living Essentials, makers of 5-hour Energy, are aiming at folks older than 55. That's right, OLDER THAN 55. And their reasoning seems to be this: Older people have MORE MONEY. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that Americans who are 45 to 64 have higher weekly earnings — more than $800 a week — than 20- to 24-year-olds, who have weekly earnings of $454, and 25- to 34-year-olds, who earn $682.

I guess those numbers were just too hard for the ad industry to dig up. Top secret! So for about two generations, the ad world chased after the folks with the least amount to spend. That's why David Letterman always out-earned Jay Leno; Leno brings in more viewers, but Letterman's are younger. They're more valuable.

Or at least, they were. But now the ad world has gone on to figure out all sorts of new things about older people. For example:

1) They aren't actually a different species.

2) They continue to buy stuff.

3) They not only earn more but also have more money in the bank than anyone else.

4) They don't actually say "What in tarnation?" when faced with a new product, such as a Swiffer or an iPad.

5) They don't like to see themselves only in Lexus commercials.

So get set for a new era on TV, filled with a lot more gray, in search of green.

Lenore Skenazy is the author of "Who's the Blonde That Married What's-His-Name? The Ultimate Tip-of-the-Tongue Test of Everything You Know You Know — But Can't Remember Right Now" and "Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry)." To find out more about Lenore Skenazy (lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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