The UK’s Independent newspaper should be ashamed

I am afraid that the Archives on this blog are still not behaving themselves. Google say that it should all be back to normal tomorrow.

Speaking of Google, they now provide a news alert service that sends a daily e-mail alert detailing all the news stories that contain a list of defined key words. OK, it contains lots of items from things like the Smallville Gazetteer but there is a lot of coverage of papers like the FT and Wall Street Journal. Much to my surprise was an alert saying that the UK’s Independent Newspaper had an article titled ‘THE Woofs: a greying generation with golden spending power’.

What can we tell from the title? ‘Woofs (Well Off Older Folk)’ –yet another bit of marketing lingo that probably comes from a new ‘research report’. ‘Golden spending power’ – it will be about the wealthy, healthy, care-free 50+ and how they will fill their days with a string of exciting activities.

The opening line of the article confirmed my worst fears. ‘They like Coldplay, go on elephant safaris in Nepal and spend their spare time in the gym or cracking the latest PlayStation game’. I will not insult your intelligence by saying any more. If you feel your blood pressure is on the low side then have a read. What really, really annoyed me about the article is that the research report, from what I can see, looks to be a much more balanced analysis of the 50+ market. The Independent just went for the headline and ignored the content.

I guess this article is one up on the last thing they published on the subject of the 50+, titled ‘J-Lo and Julia Roberts are swallowing it hook, line and sinker, and millions of baby boomers are now kissing goodbye to their Botox’.

What marketing lessons can we learn, other than to save your marketing budget and don’t buy the Independent? Journalists, with some notable exceptions like the writers at the Guardian and the FT, are the worst offenders at perpetrating the simplistic false myths about the 50+ market.