Just because your audience is old, that doesn't mean they're uncool. They're just cool in a way that you might not expect. The generations live in different cultures, and this presentation schools younger marketers in the culture in which older consumers live. And perhaps teaches us all some lessons about our own cultural assumptions.

1. OF THE
COOL OLD
GUY
How to talk to cool old guys, and why brands need to
reinvent their narratives around age.
With
Martin Karaffa for

2. Rock Hudson, 1953
Old guys used to set the rules
of cool.
We kinda invented the word.

3. Today, we don‘t set
the rules of cool.
And that‘s not a bad
thing.

4. E-TRADE
This is Getting Old, Super Bowl
2018
BUT That doesn’t
mean
we NOW SET the rules
of
uncoo

6. The cost of being thought uncool is
paid in ageism and other stereotypes.
That means lost economic and social
opportunities.
Not to mention the cost in simple
human connection, decency, and
respect.
Need we remind
ourselves of
lost commercial
opportunities.
Especially in tech.

7. Many old guys will find themselves in the
workforce for longer than they expected, or
planned for.
Some by choice. Many will respond to
opportunities which increasing labor shortages
provide
Some by necessity. The wealthy, multi-housed
boomer is a stereotype. It’s expensive to be old.

8. Old is not a
four-letter
word.
Old is not an insult, young is not a
compliment.
—Nicole Urdang
Let's get this straight. If at 55, you feel
energetic, adventurous, ambitious, seek
new challenges, and embrace new ideas
which stimulate your brain, then that's what
it feels like to be old.
—Julian Harcourt, Founder of GreyAfro
I’m a filth elder.
—John Waters, Filmmaker

9. COOL AS EVER
BUT BY THEIR OWN
RULES

10. BEWARE
OLD STEREOTYPES

11. Daily decisions are too fast
to be rational.
We rely on our emotions to
navigate life.
Where a group of people
share an emotional
preference, that’s a culture.
WHAT’S COOL? IT’S A
FAST DECISION.

12. The common emotional preferences which shape a
culture come from our shared formative
experiences. They install our instincts.
Many formative experiences come from early in life;
family, young adulthood, parenthood
And many broadly relate to demographics
• Nation/Region
• Language
• Ethnicity
• Shared collective experiences, especially
traumatic ones.
• Generation/life stage

13. • CONSUMER CULTURE INTELLIGENCE
• IN COLLABORATION WITH MEDIACOM
• 60,000 CONSUMERS
• 51 COUNTRIES AND REGIONS
• SEGMENTABLE
• AGE & GENDER
• EDUCATION
• INCOME
• LANGUAGE & ETHNICITY
• UPDATED USA Q1 2023
INDIA, INDONESIA AND MORE Q4 2023
MEASURING SHARED EMOTIONS
14

14. OPTIMISER
VS GRATIFIER
Are we proud of who
we are? Or are we
dissatisfied with
ourselves, and strive
to be something
better?
ME VS WE
Are we strong because
of something in our
character? Do we take
strength in being part of
something bigger?
ANXIETY
How much do we
worry about
problems? Scan the
horizon for new
threats?
AMBITION
Status seeking or
contentment?
ABSTRACT
VS LITERAL
Head or heart
culture?
VANITY
Utilitarian shopping,
or retail therapy?
Does a purchase
make me feel
special?
PRACTICALITY
Do we take personal
responsibility for the
impact of our
consumption
decisions, or do we
rely on brands and
regulators?
INFO NEED
Low information
buyers, or high
information buyers?
BUZZ VS BENEFIT
Do we buy on buzz, or
do we assess benefits?
HOW TO MEASURE CULTURE
• STARBUCKS
PER HEAD
• BRAND
ARCHITECTURE
• COLOUR
• INFLUENCER
FAME OR OR
RELEVANCE?
• STORYTELLING:
PITCH, SUGGEST,
OR ENDORSE.
• REFURBISHED OR
UPCYCLED GOODS
• INSTAGRAM AND
TIK TOK ARE
ANXIOUS
• ANXIOUS CULTURES
CLICK MORE FB
ADS—FOMO
• LUXURY GOODS
• DON’T USE
SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR WORK
• LINKED IN IS AN
ABSTRACT ZONE
• MAGICAL
REALISM
• LESS CONCERN
ABOUT DATA
PRIVACY • VW MARKET
SHARE AFTER
EXHAUST
SCANDAL
• LOW INFO :
VOICE COMMANDS
• HIGH INFO:
FEWER AD BLOCKERS
• BUZZY
CULTURES
FEWER
FACEBOOK AD
CLICKS
GRATIFIER ME RELAXED MIXED
AMBITION
LITERAL UTILITARIAN PRACTICAL HIGH INFO LOW BUZZ

15. KEY CULTURAL DRIVERS AMONG GENERATIONS.
OPTIMISERS
VS GRATIFIERS
Are we comfortable with constant,
incremental change, or is change always
seen as painful and dramatic? Long term
optimisers vs short term gratifiers.
ME vs WE
How strong is the social fabric?
Do we stand out or fit in?
Technically, we can refer to this as
individualism vs collectivism.
ANXIOUS
VS RELAXED
Relaxed or uptight? There is an
epidemic of anxiety in younger
generations. But it affects different
cultures in unique ways.
WHAT IT DOES, VS
WHO IT’S FOR
THE VALUE OF
POPULARITY
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT VS
A SHORT-TERM FIX
DEFERRED
GRATIFICATION
SEARCHING FOR
NEW PROBLEMS
TO SOLVE, OR A
HAPPY END-
STATE?
1 2 3
GRATIFIER
ME RELAXED

16. These three elements
define how global
culture is changing

17. OPTIMISER
VS
GRATIFIER
INDIVIDUAL
VS
SOCIAL
CONTEXT
LONG TERM
OPTIMISERS
SHORT TERM
GRATIFIERS
ME-CULTURES
INDIVIDUALIST
LOW CONTEXT
WHAT DOES IT DO?
WE -CULTURES
COLLECTIVE
HIGH SOCIAL CONTEXT
WHO IS IT FOR?

18. ME-CULTURES
INDIVIDUALIST
LOW CONTEXT
WHAT DOES IT DO?
LONG TERM
OPTIMISERS
SHORT TERM
GRATIFIERS
THAILAND B+X
INDIA
CHINA B+X
SINGAPOR
E
VIETNAM B+X
KOREA
JAPAN
USA
CAUCASIAN
SWEDEN
USA
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
USA
HISPANIC
SPAIN
POLAND
CHILE
BRAZIL
MEXICO
FRANCE
GERMANY
FMR WEST
GERMANY
FMR EAST
NETHERLANDS
WE -CULTURES
COLLECTIVE
HIGH SOCIAL CONTEXT
WHO IS IT FOR?
AUSTRALIA
UK
ITALY
NIGERIA
ARGENTINA
PERU
TURKEY
BOOMERS
HAVE TENDED
TO THINK
SHORT-TERM
IMMEDIATE
PERSONAL
NEEDS
FAST
GRATIFICATIO
MART
Y
BOOMERS

19. LONG TERM
OPTIMISERS
SHORT TERM
GRATIFIERS
THAILAND Z
INDIA
CHINA Z
SINGAPOR
E
VIETNAM Z
KOREA
JAPAN Z
GEN Z
USA
CAUCASIAN
SWEDEN Y
USA
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
USA
HISPANIC Z SPAIN Y
POLAND
CHILE
EGYPT Z
BRAZIL
MEXICO
FRANCE
GERMANY
Z
NETHERLANDS
Y
CHINA Y
GERMANY Y/E
GERMANY Y/W
GEN Y
SELECTED
AUSTRALIA JAPAN Y
UK
EGYPT Y
ITALY Z
UK Y
NIGERIA
ARGENTINA
PERU
USA
HISPANIC Y
TURKEY
ANXIETY
GEN Z
VALUES
LONG-TERM,
INCREMENT
AL
IMPROVEME
NT
DEFER
GRATIFICATI
ON
AND IT
MAKES
THEM
MORE
ME-CULTURES
INDIVIDUALIST
LOW CONTEXT
WHAT DOES IT DO?
WE -CULTURES
COLLECTIVE
HIGH SOCIAL CONTEXT
WHO IS IT FOR?

20. USA 2017-2023
+6
Collective/SOCIAL
CONTEXT
+5 Long Term
Optimiser
NOWADAYS,
OUR COOL
OLD GUY IS
THE
COUNTERCUL

21. THINK ABOUT
THE
SILENT
Insight from Dr. Bradley Schurman, Demographer and public intellectual
Author of The Super Age
• First two generations of the twentieth century
• Fought World War II
• Witnessed rampant inequality
• New tech adopters: radio, automotive, packaged goods natives.
• Optimism dashed quickly
• War
• Collapse of empires
• Global pandemic
• Hyperinflation
• Prolonged economic depression

22. WHO DID
THEY
BECOME?
Insight from Dr. Bradley Schurman, Demographer and public intellectual
Author of The Super Age
Stability Seekers
• Anxiety dominated their lives.
• Military security
• Economic security—especially through home
ownership
• The became more communitarian, with a belief in fairness.
• Government action
• Business responsibility
• Unions
• An eye for the future.
• They thought long-term, and valued staying flexible.
• Progress and tomorrow became magic words
• We need to make the future better. A duty to improve.

23. When Boomers
speak to Gen Z,
they‘re not
speaking to a
younger version
of themselves.
They‘re
• ANXIETY DOMINATES THEIR LIVES
• When nervous about the future, anxiety focuses them on money.
Does a product give me what I paid for?
• Other factors, however desirable, take a back seat.
• THEY BELIEVE IN FAIRNESS
(HiGHER SOCIAL CONTEXT, WE CULTURES)
• When members of a culture are under financial pressure, they tend to
become more communitarian.
• And they hold brands to account for unfair, immoral behaviour.
• They hold employers to account for unfair or immoral behaviour, too.
Quiet quitting (in China, lying flat) is seen as a legitimate response to
unfairness.
• THEY FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM FUTURE
(OPTIMISERS)
• Like the Silent generation, they learned to defer gratification. They
think long and hard to see how they can optimise their experience.
• Their long-term outlook gives them a keen awareness of sustainability.
Sustainability = stability.
• But price and product performance come first.
• They believe constant, incremental change is everyone‘s duty. To use
an old fashioned phrase, they believe in progress.
1
2
3

24. If Gen Z thinks
long-term,
why aren’t they
1. They’re broke
2. They’re not idiots
3. Scrimp/Splurge
Seth Fowler

25. Photo Credit: Evert F Baumgardnner, via Wikimedia Commons
Dullsville
, Daddy-
o.

26. LONG TERM
OPTIMISERS
SHORT TERM
GRATIFIERS
THAILAND Z
INDIA
CHINA Z
SINGAPOR
E
VIETNAM Z
KOREA
JAPAN Z
GEN Z
USA
CAUCASIAN
USA
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
USA
HISPANIC Z SPAIN Y
POLAND
CHILE
EGYPT Z
BRAZIL
MEXICO
FRANCE
GERMANY
Z
AUSTRALIA
UK
INDIVIDUALIST
LOW CONTEXT
WHAT DOES IT DO?
COLLECTIVE
HIGH SOCIAL CONTEXT
WHO IS IT FOR?
ITALY Z
NIGERIA
ARGENTINA
PERU
USA
HISPANIC Y
TURKEY
ANXIETY
How do
Millennial
and Gen Z
marketers
connect with
COOL OLD
GUYS?

27. • Short
term/Impulsive
• Individualism:
Me > We
• Not anxious
• Three Cultural
Codes
of Cool Old
Guys

28. Short term
gratifiers:
Impulsivity
• Open to change and innovation.
But don‘t call it self-improvement
• Disinhibition is a superpower.
• If it feels good, do it.
Sensory rewards.

29. LONG TERM OPTIMISER
ITSETUNTO
OFTEN IN ENGLISH
ALSO TRANSLATED AS
EGO
ULKONÄKÖPAINEET
(APPEARANCE ISSUES)
DEPRESSION
PROBLEM NOT
OPPORTUNITY
SELF ESTEEM
LOVE YOURSELF MORE IMPROVE SELF-
ESTEEM
STARTS AS A KID
(GENDERED)
WHY DO WE HAVE SO MUCH
DIFFICULTY VALUING WHAT WE
ALREADY HAVE. I‘LL NEVER
UNDERSTAND HUMANS WHO ONLY
MISS WHAT‘S GONE
CHANGE. BUT
CHANGE FOR
YOU AND NOT
FOR OTHERS
I AM. I CAN.
RULES: YOU CAN SAY YES OR
NO JUST ONCE.
ARE YOU BEAUTIFUL?
WHO ARE YOU LYING TO?
SHORT TERM GRATIFIER
AUTO-ESTIMA
INNER STRENGTH
COOL OLD GUYS THE SNOWFLAKE TROPE
BOOMERS GEN Z

30. Because I‘m Worth It Because You‘re Worth It
BOOMERS
GRATIFIER
ME
GEN Z
OPTIMISE
R
WE
CYBILL SHEPHERD
Lesson of Worth
4 x I’m Worth It
1 x You’re Worth It
19 x I
1 x me, to me
Criticism makes me angry
Helen Mirren, 78
Lesson of Worth
1 x I’m Worth It
4 x You’re Worth It
2 x I
10 x me, to me
Criticism makes me doubt myself
Camila Cabello, 26
A LESSON FROM A MARKETER TO COOL
WOMEN
1988 2023

31. “When I imagined the perfect world for Cool
Old Guys, I saw them all sitting around
gambling, playing poker. They were partying,
laughing, they were really loud, cracking
jokes.”
Elle Park
Head of Experience
Design and GenZ
Expert
Ronin House, Los
Christion Banks
Head of Strategy
and GenZ Expert
Ronin House, Los
Angeles
“The world I imagined was really loud and rowdy,
too. I didn’t even hear any music because they
were shouting and cheering, and arguing about
the Kansas City Chiefs’ game on the TV. My guys
were gambling, too…playing dominoes. But I joined
them, and won!”
FOR
GRATIFIERS,
LOUD ROCKS

32. Philips Shavers Sweden
If it feels good, do it.
And be loud about it.

33. IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT.
IMPULSIVITY ROCKS
BOOMERS
GRATIFIERM
E

34. • Royal Enfield
• For a motorbike, relatively gentle
sensations
• Beetles, flowers, raindrops
• Modest suggestion of speed and
engine noise
• Be Reborn: Change in yourself vs be
who you are
GEN Z
OPTIMISER
WE

36. • Mercedes-AMG Super Bowl
2017
• Impulsivity
BOOMERS
GRATIFIERM
E

38. BOOMERS
GRATIFIER
GEN Z
OPTIMISER
Cultural preferences affect tech usage
more than technophobia
DIGITAL BOOMERS
REPORT 2023
• Early adopters‘
mindset
• Only 10% cite font
size as a barrier
• Only 14% need to ask
for help regularly.

39. Individualism
• It‘s OK to be alone
• What does it do? vs Who is it for?

40. Cool Old Guys don’t care about
BOOMERS
ME

41. Gen Z. Who It’s for matters a
Lot. High Social Context
GEN Z
OPTIMISER
WE

42. Loners
are cool
Loners
are
losers
BOOMERS
ME
GEN Z/Y
WE

43. Anxious?
DON’T HARSH MY
MELLOW.

44. Why so uptight, kids?
BOOMERS
Looser bodies, spontaneous moves, more expressive, less
uptight
More controlled, more deliberate, co-ordinated and
rehearsed moves, less random.
BOOMERS
RELAXED
GEN Z
ANXIOOUS
GEN Z
SOUL TRAIN 1973
BEST OF TIK TOK
2021

45. Harley
reache
s out to
Gen Z
The Campus Agency
Learn the ins and outs of safe
motorcycling
GEN Z
ANXIOUS

46. BOOMERS/XERS
RELAXED
GEN Z
ANXIOUS
No Problem.
Positive content.
Countless new problems are
lurking. Negative content OK.

47. Nine CULTURAL
CODES FOR COOL
OLD GUYS
1. Respect his impulsivity
2. High self esteem. The “snowflake”
conundrum
3. Loud, strong sensations
4. Drop-down menus vs arrayed choice. I
know what I want.
5. Loners are winners. No need to be always
on for the social media.
6. No need for elaborate stories to establish
context
7. Free body language
8. Don’t give me new problems

48. THANK YOU.
NOW GET OFF
MY LAWN. With
Martin Karaffa for

49. And a word from our sponsor
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