No Longer a Key Demographic

The other day I was filling out some form, and I got to the section where they list what age group you are in. Much to my chagrin, I now fall in the 41-55 category. When the hell did that happen? Wasn't I just buying Boomtown Rats and Clash albums just the other day? Or was it really 25 years ago? I used to get so excited when I'd come home with a new album. You never know what lay inside.....lyrics, a poster maybe? Now I find myself getting excited when we get stuff for the house. Like the new sinks and faucets we got for upstairs in October. For a week I kept saying, "I LOVE my new kitchen sink!" What the hell happened to me?


It was just in the news last week that the first of the baby boomers are collecting Social Security!! How did time fly by so quickly? Why don't boomer opinions matter any more? How come no one cares about what we have to say? Why do I find myself sounding like my mom, "What is wrong with these stupid kids today and that gawd awful music they listen to? It's nothing but noise!" You know why? Because boomers are no longer a key demographic. No one cares about us anymore. We're a bunch of aging hippies whose kids....and grandkids....just pat us on the head patronizingly when we talk about the good ol' days of protests and free concerts in the park. Sort of like we did with our parents who would wax nostalgic about jitterbugging to the big bands or how they managed to survive the Great Depression.


Anyways, Brian and I approach our television-watching from a totally different perspective than most people. It's sort of a science with us. We like to see what kinds of commercials run during some shows, just to see the demographics that the advertisers are trying to reach. Like if you are home sick and watching TV, all the ads will be for vocational schools & personal injury attorneys, because the people that are most likely at home watching TV are people out of work for one reason or another.


So we were watching TV the other night, and this commercial comes on for some whole grain cereal. Total maybe. Can't remember the product. The graphics are all psychedelic and Peter Max'ian and the music being used is Canned Heat's "On The Road Again", a staple 1960's tune. Brian's like, "Oh wow maaaan, check out the trippy commercial!" Unfortunately the first thing that came to my mind is OMG! They are peddling whole grain cereal to aging hippies to keep them regular in their old age, by using groovy music and graphics!!! Was the summer of love really 40 years ago? Cadillac has also been trying to tempt us aging baby boomers by using Led Zeppelin music for the past 2 years. Let's face it, the only people who buy Caddies and Lincolns are old. In fact, many of the commercials targeted at us doddering old fogies use "our music", because people our age are currently making the commercials.

But I swear, I will have to smash my TV if I ever see a laxative commercial using "Shake Your Booty".