Target Demographics

The moments were great, when you realized you are finally in the adult demographic that advertisers are gunning for. You are hearing the music from your younger days at the grocery store. The same songs are in the background of the soda and beer ads. You have arrived, you have the money they want, they want to give you credit and sell you insurance. Then all of a sudden Rick Astley is getting bumped out for Usher, and just like that, the AARP ads slip in, and Consumer Cellular is on your Facebook feed.

I am still in a demographic, it’s just not the same somehow. Watching tv commercials for Cialis all of a sudden make your significant other cringe. You find yourself calculating the term life insurance payments. And what is that kid doing on my lawn!?! I am still middle aged, God willing. But it is all hitting a little different. I swear, I enjoyed Usher during the halftime show, he took the shirt off and I was on board with the song saying Yeah! But then he put on roller skates and my knees hurt and back twinged just a little. What just happened?

Age. It’s what’s happening. It’s good, I promise, the getting older. If you do it right, you get to add years and still enjoy your life. It beats not continuing on the journey. But when you all of a sudden turn the radio on and hear the songs you liked in the 90s on the oldies station, you know it won’t be long before the songs you don’t know from the early 2000s will also be on the same station, and you will have to move to the even older oldies station. That’s probably on AM radio. Help!

Facebook and things like that aren’t helping, with all of their listening and spying on us. You can’t even mention Metamucil and all of a sudden there are prune juice ads popping up. I am thankful one of my former co-workers who is very young came in yesterday and mentioned Hannah Montana in front of my phone and computer. I don’t think it will fool the spies completely, but I may see an ad for Hot Pockets or something for a day or two.

I always say I welcome the years that are willing to come my way. I don’t lie about my age, I don’t wish I could go back to my 20s. I just want to see what comes along, the good things, the bad things, and forward we go. It’s all truly a gift. But I really liked hearing Echo and the Bunnymen on the speakers at the grocery store that one time. It wasn’t that long ago, and now it’s Maroon 5. Soon it will be Beyonce or someone else I have heard of but don’t know their songs. Look out Swifties, it’s coming fast for you too. She will be on an AARP commercial before you know what even happened. My deepest apologies to Tony Orlando, your days on Muzak are long gone. But I would still Knock Three Times for you, any day.