Every generation in America is celebrated for its uniqueness, as well as its impact on our society and culture.
Except Gen X, that is.
Baby Boomers had The Graduate, Star Wars, and The Big Chill. Millennials had Harry Potter books and movies, Shrek, and Toy Story. And Gen Z has Frozen and The Hunger Games franchise.
Gen Xers?
Hands down, it would have to be The Breakfast Club, a film that very much sums up a generational mindset. That famous John Hughes film starred several members of the so-called Brat Pack, a misunderstood group of Xers. It was a story of alienation, of being misunderstood – the perfect tone for a generation that has struggled to define itself.
Well, now they’re turning 50, truly a milestone, right? And sad to say, things are about to get worse.
Generation X has long had its challenges. Relatively speaking, it’s a small generation, drowned out by two mega-groups credited with changing our
culture – Boomers and Millennials. These two larger generations have dominated headlines since they were identified by sociologists, demographers, and marketers.
It has always been about them. And now here comes Gen Z, the teenage up-and-comers and their younger sibs – Gen C – who may end up earning their own brand: “The COVID Generation.”
Xers were defined as the “latch key kids,” forced to grow up at home, make their own dinner, and clean the house after school while both parents worked. And they were perennially disrespected, resentful that Baby Boomers were vacuuming up all of the attention.
And then Millennials came along to steal the next generational thunder.
A recent article in the New York Times defines Gen X this way:
“A relatively small cohort sandwiched between baby boomer and millennials, this demographic consisting of Americans born between 1965 and 1980 seemed to dominate the cultural conversation for only a brief stretch of the 1990s, when Seattle seemed like the music capital of the universe and ‘Gen X’ served as shorthand for all things edgy and cool.”
There you have it. Grunge, RAV4s, and iPhones – all products that debuted during the formative years of Xers. That’s it. Visual Capitalist breaks their brand affinities down this way:
Gen Xers, if you think these gross generalizations are unfair, inaccurate, or just plain superficial, welcome to the BIG 5-0.
While we Boomers have had a lot of things going for us, we have become largely irrelevant in the eyes of the advertising world since turning 50. That’s because the “gray market” apparently isn’t worth targeting. For as long as I’ve been in the business, consumers north of 54 have been stereotyped as being stuck in their ways, tech-phobic, unwilling to try new brands, and living off the government teat of Social Security. In other words, old and out of it. Irrelevant.
The truth, of course, is very different. The 50+ market is the largest, wealthiest generation in history. According to eMarketer, Baby Boomers have twice the household wealth of Gen Xers, and 10 times that of Millennials in the U.S. And all of these multiples likely grew even higher as we come out of the other side of the pandemic.
But somehow advertisers consistently ignore this reality. They continue to overlook all those dependable Boomers who have been their loyal customers for decades, and who have more disposable income and wealth than any other generation. Many aging former flower children are buying second homes and furnishing them, going on vacations (post-pandemic, these will ramp up again), remodeling their homes, and frankly, continuing to serve as the economic engine of the country, a position they’ve held for decades.
Holy cognitive dissonance!
How can you ignore the red line on the chart below? But advertisers and marketers have done just that – for years. If you program or sell for a Classic Rock or News/Talk station, and you’re hacked off when you stare at this eMarketer chart, you have my sympathies. I have not only been in this movie – I’ve starred in it.
And rest assured, Xers, the older you get, the less desirable you’ll be in the eyes of Madison avenue, too – in spite of the fact your household income is 5x that of the average Millennial family.
The challenge of turning 50 is hard enough as it is – sore muscles, hair loss, weight challenges, and the futile pursuit of trying to retain your youth. Prepare for what we Boomers have had to face – watching and listening to a never-ending barrage of ads from pharmaceutical companies, assisted living communities, and insurance companies eager to sell us a reverse mortgage.
Take it from us – 50 is the new 40 (but of course, it’s not). 
Maybe there’s a shred of good news here for Xers. After feeling strangely invisible most of your lives, you will start getting attention and a lot of it…from AARP.
Get ready for a deluge of invitations in the mail exhorting you to join the ranks of the retired in exchange for senior discounts.
And before long, you’ll enter the Medicare years where healthcare will confuse the crap out of you. And you’ll become very familiar with those great senior spokes-dinosaurs, Tom Selleck, Joe Namath, Joan Lunden, and the Fonz, all of whom will be more than happy to take your money.
Turning 50 is truly the gateway to irrelevance. But you already know how that feels.
Trust us – you’ll fit right in.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Dear Fred
Bravo.
One other thing to add about the Peter Pan Generation-Boomers (“I won’t grow up”) is that we are nothing like the generations that came before us. Unlike our parents or grandparents, the Great Depression is something we have no experience with, other than as a section in a history book. Hence when our kids grew up and moved out, instead of buying that frugal, last forever VOLVO, we buy CORVETTES. We work at recapturing our youth, and lots of us have the income to pursue it. Botox, Sports Cars, Home Theater System, exotic Vacations, collectibles etc.
National Advertising Agencies are finally figuring out that the 50+ And 60+ Generations have much to offer as consumers, because, in fact, we consume like no group ever did. It’s those damn “Local” advertisers and agencies that need to be schooled on who we are. That, of course, would require local time sales people that could tell/sell that story. And that is another story unto itself.
Regards
Please keep revealing the truth.
Lee Arnold
I love this comment, Lee. The disconnect between how Boomers consume (and your colorfully nailed it) and how they’re perceived by advertisers (especially local) is just plain crazy. That eMarketer chart spoke volumes. Radio is limiting it format boundaries to fit into a narrow 30-year age range, limiting the types of stations the industry support. As a result, playlist service and satellite radio end up with somoe great-sounding, viable formats. Crazy.
Encore !!!! Made my morning
Us Boomers need to stick together, right?
Thank you for a thoroughly depressing realty check, Fred! Contrary to those millennial ad buyers out there, I’ve always believed in the consumer horsepower of my station’s 35+ demo! Now if you’ll excuse me, this 51 year old Gen X’er needs to go complete my AARP subscription!.
You’ll love being a member of AARP, Michael. Enjoy this month’s AARP magazine with Matthew McConaughey on the cover!
Wisdom comes with age and experience.
Love being a member of the “Wise Guys” Club with you wise guys. <3
It’s fun to be a wise guy (although some days I don’t feel especially wise).
Typical of a boomer writing an article about Gen-X being ignored and then weekending most of the article taking about Boomers. Perfection.
Thank you. I’d be happy to run your response.
If you say so, pal. Boomers are dying, millennials don’t work. Construction is booming. Maybe your robot manservant will build your little shack homes.
Funny thing is Gen x is largely responsible for the new- old, look at the generation of Ford mustangs that arrived as a lot of us hit a point where we could afford one, looks aloe like the 60’s Mustang I dreamed of as a kid. So although not a wide swath of demographic targeting, some very important areas brought profits to those that did target right. Now of course aloe of what we once loved has been watered down ad we are passed over, I think we made some very important contributions besides Breakfast Club, and appreciate that it has been quietly in the background without struggling for recognition, you might say the last of the golden rule generations.
Funny thing is Gen x is largely responsible for the new- old, look at the generation of Ford mustangs that arrived as a lot of us hit a point where we could afford one, looks alot like the 60’s Mustang I dreamed of as a kid. So although not a wide swath of demographic targeting, some very important areas brought profits to those that did target right. Now of course aloe of what we once loved has been watered down and we are passed over, I think we made some very important contributions besides Breakfast Club, and appreciate that it has been quietly in the background without struggling for recognition, you might say the last of the golden rule generations.
This article is completely inaccurate about Generation X and ignores their vast contributions and attributes Unbelievable.
iphones came out in 2007. None of us GenXer’s were in our formative years lol. Also this really sounds like a “stick it to GenX” kind of article. I mean you fucking boomers made us. Maybe we should have just sent you to convalescent homes and had you waste away by your lonesome selves. What a wonderful excuse to “cats in a cradle” you further, boomer.
The book Generation X not only created the term but explained that the generation did NOT begin in 1965, something that is missed in most every poorly researched piece on the subject.
For the last 30 years Gen x starts in ’65. Because we have nothing in common, especially 70s babies, with those born in the early 60s
Great article Fred. It’s been a while since a Boomer called me irrelevant but it seems like old times now.
Glad it was a nostalgic moment for you, James. (I have no idea why that post keeps showing up. It was written quite a while ago.)
As an Xer I can say this, we won’t be taking care of our Boomer parents when they get old and feeble. Our millennial siblings will have to be your caregivers if they take you in otherwise you will suffer the karma in a retirement home for allowing us to suffer in daycare at the hands of the workers and at school at the hands of the teachers and bullies. We came to you boomers who were our parents when we had problems at school and daycare and you blew us off leaving us to endure the bad treatment. As for you millennials being spoiled, you will find out for yourselves that you are a failure to launch. You will be eating out of the hands of us Xers when the boomers are gone. But I don’t expect you to take my word for it.
Sounds like you may have woken up on the wrong side of the generational bed this morning, Jake. Looks like us Boomers are down to the Millennials.
Great article. Irrelevance is our thing. We will embrace it as we always have.
You’ve got to be famous for something. Thanks, Kathy.
What I don’t understand is how someone born in 1980 is Gen X and someone born in 1981 is a Millineal even though a person born in either of those years grew up at the same time? So boomer generation lasted 18 years then they all of a sudden decide to make the following generation last only 15 years?
Demographers and sociologists often draw what appears to be arbitrary dividing lines. Sometimes, they are pinned to world events (the end of WW2, etc.), but other times, they DO seem random.
Gen X, here. We simply don’t care.
Please continue to ignore us.
There it is in a nutshell.
Laura, somehow this post ended up in a Gen X chat group. It continues to be circulated, generating frustrated comments months after it published. Generational stereotyping gets demographers in trouble more often that it clarifies. You all might want to respond with a rousing, “OK boomer,” and move on. 🙂
Really? Boomers still don’t get us any more than their parents understood them. Boomers were the worst generation ever. Poor examples, poor parenting and denial of anyone’s needs but their own characterize boomers. Who are GenX? The first to be raised with computers and video games. We are not tech ignorant. We remember basic and DOS. We have adapted and grown with tech from the beginning. We did largely raise ourselves. Most of us had mothers who did not want to be mothers and fathers that blamed us for not having better jobs after they chose to off- shore production. Just keep ignoring us please. We have always taken care of ourselves.
Oh Ginger, what can I say? Some of my best friends are Xers? Nope, that doesn’t work. I DO appreciate your comment and your passion.
Thank you Fred for this article here. GenXer here, but the latter part (1980). I like to call myself as the lettus in this sandwich. I am also a middle child, latch-key kid that had to learn BASIC as a computer programming language. So I’m an Xer with Millennial traits.
I think your article is an accurate description of the “generational war”. And all my older genX friends are still complaining about this article in the same way we responded to everything else. We want our MTv! You’ve got to fight for your right to party! And don’t put us in a corner! Even though your article was completely accurate, we must find a way to rebel.
I appreciate your special brand of Gene X humor.
Gen Xer here and I could care less about being the target market. I have never been one to buy into any trends so the sooner I become “irrelevant” to them, the better. Now if only I could just get rid of all those obnoxious ads on Facebook, my experience there would be better. (Although, I am starting to find Facebook tiresome and irrelevant too).
This Boomer agrees with you, Nicole.
This writer is a hater. Such a backhanded, condescending take on Gen x, still your YOUNGER successors.
Maybe you’re too out of touch to notice that Gen x era stays trending, especially with Gen z. Ww popularized hip hop, created a new genre with grunge, innovated the 2nd wave of tech. Oh, and Gen z coined the phrase, “90s fine” Translation people from that era, Gen x, cane from a good gene pool. There’s even a sound praising how good women in their 40s/50s look now aways.
Keep hating though.
Elon Musk is a Gen Xer and is doing more for humanity than any dumbass boomer or millennial ever will.
So there you go.