on tuesday, grimm talked about how advertisers are directing their advertising at the stereotypes of a generation. i dont know if i exactly agree with those stereotypes, however. they say that the baby boomers are obsessed with youth, generation x are slackers, and generation y is narcissistic. personally i dont agree with any of this. i think that every adult in the united states is at least a little bit worried about getting older, its how society shapes us. all the focus is on the young and the beautiful, there's no room for the reality that we're all going to get old and die some day. generation x wasn't really slackers, they just didnt want to be like their parents and spend theyre whole lives working in a job they hate until retirement. they actually seem to be the generation with the most small business owners. and i dont think we of generation y are as narcissistic, like generation x, we dont want to follow in the footsteps of our parents, but create our own paths on our own terms. we are also perceived as more fickle consumers, but i also do not agree with that because the growth of the internet has made it easier for us to find what we need at the lowest price. its not fickle, its smart, why should we spend the extra income that we could be using for other things. we can still be brand loyal, especially for low involvement goods, but when it comes to spending a little bit more, we would rather spend a little bit of time shopping around on the net to get the deals.

these untrue stereotypes, however, are a big basis on how advertisers market their products to us. for example, these mac commercials.

theyre using the stereotypical young guy to represent the mac because they are trying to update theyre image to a younger audience. the mac guy goes along with the younger population because we're on the go more than our parents and the computer is also on the go, its even ready out of the box. we also want more stuff from our products, such as its ipod compatibility and the magnetic power cord. this ties into our supposed narcissism because we want the computers to be up to date with our terms, and we don't want to wait for someone to say we're allowed to have it. but this, like many things is not just for the young, most people want the latest, greatest products with more things on it than they could ever need. look at all the middle aged men who buy sports cars and motorcycles, they don't need them, but they want them so they go out and get them.





















so it shouldn't be the types of stereotypes associated to a generation that the advertisers should market to, but the general demand of the population because most of the population wants the same items and many times for similar reasons, to look cool to all of their friends.