#03 Generation Games
Age is just a number so they say.
Not according to Marketers who have always been a bit obsessed with not just ages but entire generations.
Not so long ago us Millennials were all the rage.
With our fixie bikes, our top knots, our lumberjack shirts and our flat whites.
Marketeers wanted us. Every client brief wanted to engage Millennials.
But those days are over. We’ve fallen from grace, to be replaced by our Gen Z brethren.
We’re not only uncool but hated for our love of Disney, our brunching and our lack of boundaries at work.
The way to tell a persons age is now by the height of their socks by the way:
Ankle or Trainer socks = ≥ Millennial
Crew socks = ≤ Gen Z
I guess the real sign that your generation is no longer cool is when the clothes you wore as a teenager are now peak fashion. The dread I felt when I saw a Linkin Park t-shirt on Boohoo.
But the biggest thing that influences and defines generations (aside from socks, the size of the font on your phone and the amount of time you can spend kneeling) is technology.
I’ve always felt when it came to technology our generation fell down a gap…
We were the first Internet generation but we had dial-up.
We were the first mobile generation but we had WAP.
We were right at the start of a tipping point - too early to be naturals at technology, too late to just ignore it.
I studied Photography at Sixth Form College. The first year we had to use traditional 35mm cameras and developed our photographs in a dark room. The second year Digital Cameras became (just about affordable) so we then had to beg our parents for money and learn how to use photoshop!
If Millennials were the Internet generation, Gen Z are the social media generation, Gen A will be the AI generation.
So for now, it’s Gen Z’s turn to be the envy of all creative briefs. But Gen A is coming…
Many of them will live to see the 22nd century!
How old do you feel now?
Things you need to know this week
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OpenAI challenges Google with ChatGPT powered search engine ‘SearchGPT’
OpenAI has announced SearchGPT, its AI-powered search engine with real-time access to information across the internet. Rather than returning a plain list of links, SearchGPT tries to organize and make sense of them. SearchGPT was developed in collaboration with various news partners, which include organizations like the owners of The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Vox Media. Publishers can opt out of having their content used to train OpenAI’s models but still be surfaced in search. Via The Verge
TikTok Adds Custom Thumbnail Option for videos
Previously, you could only use a still from your video but now you can upload custom covers or engaging images. The option is available in-app and on desktop. YouTube is developing the same feature for Shorts. Via Social Media Today
TikTok Looks to Relaunch Its European In-Stream Shopping Push
After a failed acceleration back in 2022, TikTok is looking to launch its in-app shopping tools in Spain and Ireland. With in-app spending on the rise, TikTok sees a new opportunity to connect with EU shoppers. Via Bloomberg
Link lowdown
Gen Z broke the marketing funnel - An insightful article and a lovely parallax site by Vogue Business
Winning Isn’t for Everyone, Am I a Bad Person - Willem Dafoe narrates Nike’s Olympic spot (if you haven’t already seen it)
Joker: Folie À Deux - The official trailer for the follow-up to the absolutely brilliant first Joker movie
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