Commercials generally target 18-49 year olds

About 17 years ago there was a commercial for Dodge trucks that featured music by Aerosmith. In fact, at the time, the commercial was using an Aerosmith hit called “Just Push Play.”

I remember watching it on television at my mother’s home, and she said, “That music is driving me nuts. I would never buy one of their trucks.”

“But Mom,” I said, “they’re not trying to sell you a truck. They’re trying to sell me a truck.”

The people who make commercials know, for the most part, what they’re doing. And they know which age group they need to reach. And they plan accordingly.

In the year 2001, they knew that if you wanted to sell a vehicle to someone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, Aerosmith was a perfect fit in the marketing plan.

Companies try to sell their products and services mainly to people who are 18-49 years old. People younger than that don’t have much money. People who are older than that are too hard to convince.

That may be an over-generalization, but that’s pretty much the way it is.

In my life, I remember perfectly well what it felt like to be 18 years old and not have much money. I lived through that, as did many of you.

Now I’m in the phase of life that is much different. I still don’t have much money, but at least it’s a lot more than I had as a teenager.

I’ve noticed that now — at the age of 56 — that I find myself more set in my ways than I’ve ever been. It must be the natural progression of things.

I’m not sure when it actually happened, but at some point, I crossed into territory that is occupied mainly by senior citizens. Or, you might say I turned into a stubborn old man. (I hope you don’t say that, but I guess you could.)

But it doesn’t matter if I am considered a senior citizen or a stubborn old man, the truth is that I am now in a category that the advertisers have basically given up on (except those who sell life insurance, retirement plans or various drugs to help a person recapture his youth).

The advertisers know, generally speaking, that if I’m not already using their product, I probably won’t start now.

There are exceptions to everything of course, but the bottom line is that I’m not as heavily targeted by advertisers as I was just a few years ago.

Instead, the companies have decided to spend their marketing dollars to get customers from younger generations. And that’s okay with me. It kind of feels good knowing that not everyone is trying to sell me something all of the time.

The advertisers have concluded that, for the most part, even if they blast older adults with millions of dollars of commercials, it won’t do any good.

The same can be said about one lone individual trying to change my mind or challenge a conviction I’ve had for almost 40 years. It just won’t work.

It doesn’t mean I won’t change; it’s just that it might be a waste of someone’s time to try to get me to change.

I’ve lived long enough to take some of the hardest hits that Madison Avenue can deliver, and I’m still standing. As a result, Madison Avenue has moved on and is going after easier targets.

I might merely sound like a stubborn old guy here, and I admit that I am a little stubborn and a little old. But I prefer to think of myself as settled,

reliable and consistent.

I’m not ancient by any means, but I’ve at least lived long enough to know what I like and how I want things to be.

I’m not saying I’ll never listen to innovative ideas — in fact, I think all of us should. And I’m not saying I cannot change. But if you want me to consider something new, you might at least use some Aerosmith music to get my attention.