No. of Recommendations: 3
When I retired from my day job I started gigging again in local bars and restaurants. Our band was playing mostly songs from the 60's and 70's. I might be exaggerating (but I don’t think so) but in every TV commercial break there’s at least one spot that uses 60’s or 70’s music as a background, occasionally foreground as a major part of the ad. The rights to do this do not come cheap (as the headline catalog sales we’ve been reading about demonstrate)
Now the advertisers are (still) focused on the 25-54 demographic, the (mythical) mantra being “they’re in the accumulation years”, and the time when buying habits are set. Even worse, some narrow it down even younger: to the 25-34 bracket or something. (Teen habits are quite different, obviously, and are bought with that demographic in mind.)
And yet, as I look around, it’s us oldsters who have the money, and more important
the disposable income to buy what we want when we want. The house is paid off, the kids are through school, and we’re just rolling in it (exaggeration.) Yet the ad agencies cut us off at the knees and pay no attention. Seriously.
I have always questioned the “set their habits” mantra; when I was poor I bought a VW or low end Toyota. Now it’s Infiniti or EV. That’s a “habit”? I don’t think so. Look thru my pantry or medicine cabinet you’ll see some familiar names: Coca Cola, Tropicana, etc. but you’ll also see plenty of recent creations like energy drinks, salsas, and so on.
If you grew up with the music of the 60’s and 70’s, you are likely between 60 and 80. So the agencies will commission the music, but then try to play it for people outside that demographic. Makes no sense. Then again, advertising never did.
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Here’s one, for instance “The Daily Show” has the best ratings since 2018. In the age group 18-49. Like who cares about a 55 year old looking for furniture or a new car? I dont get it.
The Daily Show’ Posts Best Adults 18-49 Ratings in More Than Eight Years (EXCLUSIVE) According to the network, for the first quarter of 2026, “The Daily Show” averaged a 0.579 rating among adults 18-49, its best mark in the demo since the fourth quarter of 2017 (0.593 rating).
Leading that demo surge is Monday night episodes of “The Daily Show,” hosted by Jon Stewart, which for that night is currently the No. 1 show in late night with adults 18-49. But also posting year-over-year growth are the Tuesday-through-Thursday episodes hosted on a weekly rotating basis by “The Daily Show” news team members Ronny Chieng, Josh Johnson, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/the-daily-show-ra...
