Why am I not surprised to read in today’s AdAge that Automakers pursuing the all conquering youth demographic are barking up the wrong tree, according to a study from auto industry consultancy AutoPacific, which pointed out (rather obviously to me) that baby boomers have the disposable loot that should be driving advertising efforts. Yet, apparently only 10 percent of car ads are aimed at people over 50, who happen to own three-quarters of the nation's financial assets and $2 trillion in disposable annual income. Apart from the fact I’ve got a ton more money than a 22 year old burger flipper, I’ve also got more taste, which means Mad Ave couldn’t get away with the stupid car ads they love to make. Further proof that the ad industry is run by idiots! 
When I become a Baby Boomer, I'm buying a Ferrari!
You make a good point, but maybe the idea is that young people respond to advertising more readily than people over 50, and a certainly more impulsive consumers than the near-senior citizens. The other point I've heard is that just as young kids respond to messages aimed at older people, that same aspirational element works with older people wanting to feel younger, and hence responding to ads featuring their "imagined selves" at 30 yrls old driving a new car.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 30, 2006 6:24 PM | Permalink to Comment