Modern America is undergoing two sets of drama simultaneously: We are about to become a majority nonwhite country, and at the same time, a record share of us are turning gray, Paul Taylor, executive vice president of special projects at the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., said during the Public Relations Society of America OC chapter’s Senior Roundtable on May 15.
Taylor’s presentation focused on demographic changes detailed in his new book, “The Next America.”
“Either one of these changes by itself would be the transformative enough demographic story of this era,” he said. “The fact that they are both happening on top of each other, has created generation gaps. We have a country now where young and old don’t look alike, don’t think alike, and don’t vote alike. And this has a potential to put stress on everything from our families to our pocketbooks to politics to our social safety net to our need for social cohesion.”
Taylor talked about “millennials,” people 34 and younger, as a well-educated and underemployed group who will likely get the short end of the stick when it comes to federal entitlement programs for the elderly, such as Social Security. He also shared an “age pyramid” that showed that in the 1960s, the majority of the country’s population was 24 and younger. That same pyramid in 2060 will likely become a rectangle, he said, when there will be almost as many Americans older than 85 than there are those who are younger than 5. The immigration wave, about 40 million strong, is preventing the graphic presentation from looking more like an inverted pyramid, which is the case in countries such as Germany and Japan, where the elderly demographic will dominate the population.
The projections Taylor shared can help industry leaders plan their messages.
“A lot of things hit me personally,” said Scott Smith, president and chief executive of Westbound Communications in Orange, after hearing Taylor’s presentation. “We are always trying to advocate or communicate with all these different audiences, so how do we frame our stories to fit everybody?”
Shorts on Ads
Quiksilver Inc.’s new TV ad touts its AG47 boardshorts as “the pinnacle of Quiksilver technical products inspired by 45 years of innovation and performance.”
The one-minute ad, featuring computer-generated imagery of the shorts, departs from the brand’s historically athlete endorsement-heavy marketing approach. It follows the Huntington Beach-based apparel manufacturer’s parting of ways with world champion surfer Kelly Slater announced in March.
The ad can be seen on the company’s YouTube channel. The brand spent $3.3 million on advertising last year, according to New York-based Kantar Media.
Meanwhile, Costa Mesa-based competitor Volcom Inc. is running a 30-second ad to promote its latest model of Manic Mod boardshorts, mocking the technology trend altogether. The ad features footage of surfer William Aliotti and imagery of everyday items that the ad teasingly suggests have roots in rocket science—computers, microwaves, purple dresses, the ocean, and yes, the boardshorts. The 30-second TV spot ends with a slogan and the hashtag, “It’s boardshorts, not rocket science, #GoSurfAlready.”
The ad was created by Volcom Europe Marketing Team. The brand spent nearly $2.4 million on advertising in 2013, according to Kantar.
Loco for El Pollo
Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. has a new slogan for its crew’s uniforms, thanks to a social media contest.
Steven Brauer of Laguna Hills came up with the winning entry, “Without the flame it ain’t the same,” which got the most votes on the brand’s Facebook page.
“We have a very engaged social media community who truly love El Pollo Loco and find compelling ways to show their appreciation for the brand every day,” Ed Valle, the restaurant chain’s chief marketing officer, said in a news release.
All submissions were evaluated “on humor, creativity, relevancy to current topics, and the likelihood that people would want to purchase a T-shirt with the proposed slogan on it.”
Brauer, aside from seeing his words on employees’ uniforms, will get a year’s worth of free chicken.
