Golden Years? Excuse me, but the editors must have been addressing their article to my 80-year-old parents. It'll be another quarter century before I reach MY golden years, thank you very much.
The editors clearly haven't read Generation Ageless: How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Live Today ... And They're Just Getting Started.
"It is pretty well recognized that Boomers should not be addressed as 'old people' or 'seniors.' This language does not resonate with Boomers and usually alients them," say authors J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman, of Yankelovich, Inc., a leading consumer research company that has helped marketers understand consumer values and behavior since 1958. "On the other hand, they are responsive to marketing that uses an active, lively, youthful tone."
Ours is a generation that not only can't afford to retire, we don't want to. We are constantly reinventing ourselves, breaking all the rules and looking for ways to make a difference in a changing world. And still, we are not satisfied, which opens a window for marketers who can make a convincing pitch.
Baby Boomers are not all alike, and the authors slice and dice the data so thin you can slip it into a dozen different pair of skinny jeans without even holding your breath.
Given that Yankelovich actually coined the term "Baby Boomers" back in the late 1960s when they first started collecting data on my self-absorbed generation, and they've studied our dreams, buying patterns, health habits, and values every decade since, they ought to know what they're talking about.
The book, though bogged down with buzzwords and text-book tedious at times, is a must-read for anyone who has a product, service or idea to sell to this influential group of 78 million consumers. Now where are my reading glasses ...
Generation Ageless: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Live Today . . . And They're Just Getting Started
Hardcover: 320 pages
Collins (October 2, 2007)
List Price : $24.95
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Comments: 25
When I grow up (see, I'm not there yet, so I might be more ageless than the boomers!), I want to be an author, and I hope that they don't look askance at 50, because the way my courage is going, I might never GET there!
Jennifer, I was just a shy little kid in the 60s, too young to be taking up a cause, but old enough to observe what was going on around me. And though I like to think of myself as unique, I saw myself reflected in many of the pages of this book.
Cecile and Marianne, isn't it great to be 18 again, with the second half of your life spread out before you? Only this time we have the knowledge and experience to pick and choose our priorities. What a great journey we're on. And yes, it is empowering.
Lisa, I can relate to deadline pressure and never having enough hours to do all the things you want and have to do. Today, quite literally, is a gift -- with Leap Year comes an extra day in February!
Mozy, your photo says it all -- classic beauty inside and out.
Vivian, you are lucky to have great genes. Here's to our good health!
Emma, John, Donna, Flit and Mary, thanks for stopping by. Be sure to read Elizabeth's review, too, for a tango lesson and deeper look at this fascinating book.
"I happen to be a baby boomer and I felt like the fun side of me wasn't being catered to and marketed to," she told the Associated Press in a phone interview from her office in Louisville. "I was getting ads for medication and hearing aids and no one was appealing to my fun side."
"Golden," "old people," "seniors?" NO WAY!
Neal Gabler, cultural historian, who wrote, "The Tyranny of 18 to 49: American Culture Held Hostage," published by Annenberg School for Communications.
Great comments Norvona, Diana and Sigriet.
wait...how old am I - oh I forgot - not focussing on age - just on living -
Lisa, my dad was 58 when I was born and beginning a new career and a new life - his second half - he died at the age of 80 and was a well-known and respected chiropractor! So, yes, after 50 many things can happen - in fact, it's the best part of one's life because we're teenagers without hormones and life is really fun! It doesn't matter that my arse is going South - my head is still Headed North - and I'm going strong! May your day be filled with wonder...
I'll check the book out. Salud.
Amen, Lisa. Salud.
For myself I say this....
I am 51 and been writing for ONE year.
Prior to that time I had words weaving patterns through my mind but I did not have the Wisdom to put those words down coherently.
There is something to be said for a "life lived."
I am nothing like my parents or grandparents.
By the time they were my age they were OLD.
No matter how briefly or how long we "baby boomers" live,
I suspect we will be forever young.