This is Brent Green's Typepad Profile.
Join Typepad and start following Brent Green's activity
Brent Green
I'm an author, speaker, creative director and marketing consultant focused on the Baby Boomer Generation.
Interests: Fitness, candid photography, business writing, fiction writing, intelligent movies and books, European travel, gourmet cooking, wilderness trekking
Recent Activity
Are Social Security and Medicare benefits a sinking Titanic?
Posted Feb 25, 2022 at Boomers
Comment
0
Why those who oppose the word "generation" and reject "generational framing" do not understand or practice modern marketing
Posted Dec 7, 2021 at Boomers
Comment
0
A Gift for the Boomers in Your Life
Posted Dec 15, 2020 at Boomers
Comment
0
The Limits and Opportunities of Generational Understanding
Posted Oct 14, 2020 at Boomers
Comment
0
The Immortality Narrative for those who have lost someone to COVID-19
Posted Sep 15, 2020 at Boomers
Comment
0
Why Quentin Tarantino doesn't understand 1969 and hippies
Posted Aug 4, 2019 at Boomers
Comment
0
1969: The Year That Changed A Nation, Resonates Today, 50 Years Later
Posted Feb 19, 2019 at Boomers
Comment
0
The Peace Sign, Martin Luther King, and the True Significance of April 4th
Posted Mar 31, 2018 at Boomers
Comment
0
Marketing to Baby Boomers - The Power of Generational Experiences Applied to Television Advertising
Posted Jan 22, 2018 at Boomers
Comment
0
Boomers Are Ready and Willing to Engage Churches in a New Ministry Movement
Churches have had declining attendance for several decades, and today only 20% of Americans attend weekly services. Between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors yearly. Can churches turn this around? In my keynote address at a national conference for leaders of The United Methodist Church, appropriately called Boomerstock, I emphasized novel generational strategies, coupled with intelligent branding and marketing tactics. My recommendations boil down to two fundamental marketing principles: 1) understand the target market — in this case Baby... Continue reading
Posted Dec 19, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
What Vincent van Gogh Can Teach Boomers (and everyone else) about Failure
Posted Nov 8, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
When Old Is New Again: Apple iPhone, Aging and Intergenerational Connections
Some of us are intimately familiar with every outdated technical skills demonstrated in a classic TV ad from Apple. The spot follows an unassuming archivist working in an ancient building. Shelves bulge with film reels, photos and negatives. With a gentle gaze, the stooping man orchestrates his antique tools to bring celluloid memories alive. The final result, a short documentary film called “Together,” appears miraculously on a young mother’s iPhone somewhere else in the world. Images of her young family... Continue reading
Posted Sep 11, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
Baby Boomers' Woodstock in 1969 Is A Public Dream Of National Unity So Needed In 2017
Posted Aug 16, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
Boomers: Transformation of the Travel Industry and The Future of Tourism
Posted Aug 7, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
How A Twelve-Year-Old Girl Ventriloquist Gave Hope to a Dying Man
Posted Jul 26, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
1
The Boomer Generation Journey of "The Case for Christ"
Posted Apr 10, 2017 at Boomers
Comment
0
For Boomers and older, aging brings great losses. Is there value in suffering?
Posted Dec 18, 2016 at Boomers
Comment
0
Boomers Guaranteed to Inspire A Revolution ... in Aging
Posted Mar 3, 2016 at Boomers
Comment
0
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Derek. If you read any of my books, you'll see that I'm usually pretty harsh concerning advertisers that throw down Boomer stereotypes. And, yes, stereotypical ads are often created by those who only have secondhand experience with Woodstock and the sixties.
However, the “Memory Lane” ad inspires me because of the compensating narratives of generativity and family. The humor is not an indictment of an entire generation but rather the story of one zany character from the generation.
Humor simply works in advertising, especially when it hits close to home. I reflect upon at least one longtime friend whose way of reacting to situations is very reminiscent of Grandma Woodstock, and she went to the three-day festival of "peace and love." Yes, the spot veers toward cheesiness, but "it’s in a way that fits the brand well," according to "Adweek."
The ad's essential purpose is to demonstrate in a memorable way that the Outback can “go anywhere.” Mission accomplished.
Concerning your theory that the ad was created by "a bunch of clueless kids age 28," the director was Lance Acord, who was born on September 9, 1964. He is known for his film work on "Lost in Translation," "Being John Malkovich." and "Adaptation." The Executive Creative Director was Randy Hughes who is around age 56 and has been with Carmichael Lynch Advertising, the agency, since 1998. The copywriter was Conn Newton, in his mid-40s, who, in addition to this spot, wrote the highly mature and sobering "They Lived" campaign for Subaru.
My two colleagues who agree with me about this commercial have both written and published books on Boomer marketing and advertising. Everyone is entitled to an opinion when judging art/advertising, and there will rarely be agreement, especially with commercials that are edgy and not entirely PC.
The bottom line in advertising is the "bottom line," and the folks at Subaru America just announced some noteworthy sales results:
*Subaru sets a new all-time sales record in December 2015 of 582,675 vehicles; up 13.4 percent over 2014
*December 2015 marks best-ever sales month in company history
*49th consecutive month of year-over-year growth
*Best December ever for Legacy, Forester, WRX/STI, Outback and Crosstrek
*Best year ever for Forester, WRX/STI, Outback and Crosstrek
*29th consecutive month of more than 10,000 Foresters sold
*22nd consecutive month of more than 10,000 Outbacks sold; best Outback month ever
Is this the best television ad currently targeting Baby Boomers?
I am sometimes asked my opinion about which national consumer brands are truly successful from a generational marketing perspective. Matt Thornhill, founder of the Boomer Project and Generations Matter, sent me a recent email to solicit my opinion so he could better inform a magazine journalist ...
Is this the best television ad currently targeting Baby Boomers?
I am sometimes asked my opinion about which national consumer brands are truly successful from a generational marketing perspective. Matt Thornhill, founder of the Boomer Project and Generations Matter, sent me a recent email to solicit my opinion so he could better inform a magazine journalist about which marketers are most effective. Matt wrote: The actual major brands that demonstrate intelligence on how to reach Boomers are few and far between. Any that come to your mind? Frankly, I'm pretty... Continue reading
Posted Jan 26, 2016 at Boomers
Comment
2
"It is true that most of the older LTCi policies have had large premium increases. To protect consumers purchasing policies today, 41 states have passed strict pricing regulations. Consumers purchasing policies today are protected from the pricing mistakes of older policies."
So, the same industry, and many of the same companies that sold older policies, including a policy to my wife, have corrected their misdeeds and miscalculations with the help of new state government regulations and stricter public sector oversight?
That certainly gives me comfort to know my government is acting as a watchdog over the LTC insurance industry. I'm also charmed that bad-faith pricing behavior has now been cloaked in euphemistic language: "Long-Term Care Partnership Programs."
I'm curious how much the LTC insurance industry has had a hand in shifting the potential burdens of consumer protection to state governments through lobbying and political influence.
Further, your statistic of 7.2 million current LTC insurance policyholders seems impressive upon first glance, but there are 100 million+ consumers over age 50 in the United States, 76 million of whom are Baby Boomers.
LTC insurance has not exactly caught fire with insurance consumers, and I'm guessing it's because of generally perceived deficiencies in all aspects of LTC insurance products, including the spurious costs of premiums and distrust of the industry.
I have nothing to gain from critiquing LTC insurance or taking an editorial stand against these products as presently conceived. Maybe we should instead examine the benefits you derive financially, Scott, from LTC insurance before we become too reassured by your reassurances.
Thanks for commenting anyway.
Boomers Be Wary of Long-Term Care Insurance
We know the long-term care (LTC) insurance industry wants to storm America with its expensive and nebulous products, but few "experts" present a complete picture: the economic downsides of LTC insurance, the alternatives, and the possibilities for better insurance products in the future. Here's...
Boomers Be Wary of Long-Term Care Insurance
Posted Nov 11, 2015 at Boomers
Comment
3
Baby Boomer Men, Aging, and Three Kinds of Friendship
Posted Aug 10, 2015 at Boomers
Comment
0
Wildlike, A Majestic Film, Challenges Boomer Males to Become Better Men.
Posted Jul 7, 2015 at Boomers
Comment
0
Gender and Generational Hallmarks Influencing Boomer Men
Posted May 19, 2015 at Boomers
Comment
0
More...
Subscribe to Brent Green’s Recent Activity