Need info about baby boomers and advertising. Help?

[jane_pippin]

I'm trying to write an essay because I'm bored and interested in advertising. I'm looking for information about baby boomers and advertising but so far I can only find things like "how to advertise to baby boomers." It's interesting, but I'd like to find out more about how boomers were advertised to as kids. I think it relates to the advertising boom in the 50's and 60's too--you know, when every tv dad, (just for a fun reference), was a Madison Avenue hot-shot

My theory is that their/your generation was the first that was actively marketed to and that helped usher in this era of youth-worship we find ourselves in now, for better or worse. I see it as a switch from a "kids should be seen & not heard" attitude to one of "kids should be seen, heard, and put in focus groups." (Think of the various reports lately that teens & tweens represent a huge demographic that drives market trends now).

The essay itself is about more than advertising, but this is where I need to start for the thing to make sense. Can anyone point me in the right direction for finding information about this that will help prove my theory or change my mind? Any information and comments are welcome.

Thanks everyone. :hi:

[progmom]

1. you lost me at "I'm trying to write an essay because I'm bored"

:P

[jane_pippin]

2. Yeah yeah. Newsflash: I'm a nerd.

:P

[Hugin]

10. That's okay jane_pippin...

It makes me happy to see people informing themselves
and developing opinions on our modern problems.

Keep it up!

:)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

13. Same here

You might want to reconsider that career in advertising.

[jane_pippin]

15. huh?

Was the career in advertising remark directed at me? Because I don't have nor do I want a career in advertising.

I just like to learn about things that interest me and then write about them. What's the big deal? :shrug:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

17. Oh

You're only "interested" in advertising.

I see.

If you were considering a career in advertising - my mistake, since I thought that's what you meant, being bored and all - I'd urge you to reconsider, since your opening line was anything but inviting.

Believe me, this is anything but a big deal. Or any kind of deal at all. I'm sorry you're bored. Life's far too short for that.

[jane_pippin]

20. I think you're reading way too much into the OP.

My background is in communication and advertising, but I don't want to go in to advertising as a career.

While my opening line is lackluster, it's also the lounge so I'm not too concerned about having snappy, attention grabbing first sentences--especially when I post while I'm still trying to wake up. (I am, however, quite capable of writing well and persuasively when I want to).

I'm with you on the life's to short for boredom idea. That's why I come up with projects like this that will amuse me and make me think.

No worries/big deal/hard feelings/whatever. :hi:

[RebelOne]

3. You could some up with lots of interesting info

if you Google 1950s or 1960s advertising or any year you are looking for.

[jane_pippin]

4. You'd think so.

But what I've gotten so far is just examples of advertising from that era. It's fun, and useful to a degree, but I'm more interested information about whether or not there was a change in attitude in the 50's & 60's as compared to earlier decades. Hmmm...I think I just thought of something new to google. Thanks. :)

[Midlodemocrat]

5. Try googling 'advertising trends' and the like.

I think you will get what you are looking for.

[jane_pippin]

6. Trends! There's the keyword my sleepy brain couldn't think of.

Thanks Midlo. :hi:

[taterguy]

7. suggestion

Get out of the house, go the local library and ask there. Even in the Internet age there's lots of great stuff in books

[jane_pippin]

9. I know. I used to work in a library and my second job is in a bookstore.

I love books. But for right now, I'm at my desk job with little work to actually do and DUers are smart so I thought I'd ask here too.

[Hugin]

8. Modern Advertising was developed in the 1930's by a couple of...

Psychologists who went over to the dark side.

They were peers of "B. F. Skinner" (the behavior modification
psychologist).

As I remember it, they were a man and woman who were
romantically connected. They turned after performing
a series of highly unethical experiments on a young
child where they "trained" him to cry when shown a
white rat.

I'll look and see if memory serves.

[jane_pippin]

11. Thanks Prag.

I remember learning about Skinner back in high school, but did not know about his connection to advertising. So far, a little googling has brought up some interesting articles.

[Hugin]

12. Ah, here's the culprit!

Watson! One scary dude.

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/John-B.-Watson

[Hugin]

14. Very detailed biography of John Watson.

Here...

http://vygotsky.sfasu.edu/Courses/psy503/Watson.html

[jane_pippin]

18. Interesting indeed.

Thanks for both of the links. They should provide some good background for my little exercise. :hi:

[Hugin]

19. You're very welcome.

These people creep me out... If there is such a thing
as a true conspiracy theory. This is it, baby!

:tinfoilhat:

[jane_pippin]

22. I think it has more to do with greed and lack of boundaries

than a full on conspiracy. But who knows, maybe they all go hand in hand.

The link you posted below, about women and cigs--I remember reading about that campaign in one of my women's studies classes. I'll have to dig through my old notes & books one of these days to see if I still have the articles.

Some information about Freud's nephew--I forget his name right now-- and public relations, (a term he coined, if I recall correctly), makes for some good reading too if you have time.

[Hugin]

25. Something interesting I've noticed...

In this little exercise. There seems to be quite a bit
of recent "historical revisionism" cleaning up the story
of John Watson.

Evidence is many broken links to the critical papers.

Thank goodness for Google's "cache" feature.

;)

[Hugin]

26. Eddie Bernays...

Freud's nephew and A. A. Brill also figured prominently.

[Hugin]

16. I don't know if this source is amenable to DU...

But, it shows a link from Watson's Ad Agency and the
advent of smoking and other activities.

VERY INTERESTING!

http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/1999/torches.html

[Felix Mala]

21. I would start 30 years earlier with the advent of the 40 hours work

week, end of child labor and birth of radio. Lots of radio programs hooked kids and got them to buy stuff. Remember: "Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine?" That wasn't an exaggeration. With more free time and more money, parents were free to lavish all kinds of material crap on their kiddies. This included the college education where you could extend childhood for another 4 to 7 years.

A lot of working young people really resented their college-bound peers in the 20's through the 40's... After WWII, just about everyone could go to college is they wanted to.

Of course, most of my family back then was farming and the whole thing was completely different. Kids were expected to start working as soon as they knew enough to stay out of the way of trucks and tractors. My dad was weeding hundred acre bean fields when he was 5.

[jane_pippin]

23. "parents were free to lavish all kinds of material crap on their kiddies"

That's an important point and it gets to the heart of my little theory. Your whole post, really, has a lot of good points to get into. Thanks for your perspective and good advice.

[Sequoia]

24. I remember the ads on Saturday AM cartoons

that were indeed marketed to us kids as they had kids in the commercials: Apple Jacks (a bowl a day keeps the bully away), Trix (silly rabbit, Trix are for kids), Lucky Charms with kids chasing the lepruchan, toys galore. Not much has changed.

[caty]

27. I don't know if this helps, but....

I heard on the news last year that those who were teenagers in the 60's have a younger outlook, feel younger, and look younger on a whole than those who were teenagers in the 70's. Something about how we loved our lives so much in the 60's that we have never let to of the attitudes we developed back then.

[jane_pippin]

28. It does. Thanks for your perspective.

:hi:

[jane_pippin]

29. Thanks, all of you, for your thoughts on this. I've got actual work to do

at work now, (d'oh!), but if you have more ideas put 'em up and I'll check back when I can.