Ageism in the Marketplace....

Ageism is alive and well in product manufacturing circles.  I’ll explain.

If we believe what we see in their advertisements, we Boomers barely exist. Which is absurd even on its face: the mere size of our generation alone makes us hard to ignore.  But when it comes to major advertisers, ignore us they do unless they’re marketing any item for the aged. 

Why is this a problem, you may be thinking?  Because if marketers think we don’t count, that means the product and service sectors they represent also think we don’t count…which is why you see most products geared to young people…not us.

And you know, given the statistics, you’d think every product on the planet would be trying to get our business…after all:

• Boomers spend a whopping $2.3 trillion annually on goods and services; that’s $400 Billion more than any other age group
• We hold 65% of all disposable income

Sadly, however, the vast majority of products & services are glorifying youth while peripheralizing us….in fact, according to most product manufacturers and the 30 y.o. marketing geniuses they hire, we Boomers’ lives boil down to the following three things…

1. Taking Lots of Pills: …apparently the main things we need or use in life are medications…. Don’t get me wrong… I too want to see the complete eradication of erectile dysfunction in our lifetime – and keeping our arteries unclogged is a noble calling!  But our sperm and cholesterol counts are not all that make up our lives…  Oh, and if your idea of relaxation is sitting in two separate bathtubs on a mountainside, what a waste of a good dose of Cialis…
2. Sitting around all day thinking about Life Insurance: Apparently we’re all about to die, so we better get that insurance policy really soon or our offspring will disown us…
3. Slathering on wrinkle reducers & gray hair cover-ups: First of all, I like my laugh lines, and don’t want to eradicate them likes rats in the subway…and who knew that a few gray hairs would put even the most famous of football stars in the old-age home (remember that one???)  But, you know what’s really pathetic?  Even the wrinkle reducing creams, although clearly meant for us, are not marketed to us! The majority of models used in these commercials look to be the ripe old age of 22…How silly is that?

And, what’s not marketed to us?  What products are advertised directly to, and therefore designed to meet the needs of those ages 18-39?

• Most cars (other than the Toyota Venza)
• Most clothing (other than Ann Taylor)
• Almost all cosmetics
• Vacation destinations
• Fitness Clubs
• Electronics
• Jewelry

My fellow Boomers, you are being given the shaft by the very products we need and use…which as a result are being designed to meet the needs of a younger consumer, from packaging print that requires a microscope to read, to hotels designed to look quite hip at the expense of comfort – great for kids, bad for us…  Ageism.

Here’s what to do about it; it’s simple and easy.  Use your considerable purchasing power to buy the products, and use the services of those companies smart enough to market directly to us – because by doing so they have proven their dedication to us and our specific needs, and deserve our dollars.

A good place to start is with these four businesses that have on-going campaigns targeted directly to us: Dove, Hardrock Hotel & Casino, and the aforementioned Toyota & Ann Taylor.

You have been officially alerted.