CenterlineRight: Save Us from this Damnable Virtue Signaling…and the Cycle of Life

2020 U.S. Census figures show us that approximately 10.2 percent of married couple households in America are interracial or interethnic. It is estimated that this number has increased since that date. Among interracial couples, the most common pairings are White-Hispanic at 42 percent; White-Asian at 15 percent; and White-Black at 12 percent. Of the interracial marriages, the most common are among same-sex couples at 31.6 percent as compared to opposite-sex couples at 18.4 percent. Based on the 2020 U.S. Census count, 8 percent of Americans consider themselves LGBTQ+; which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual. The 2020 U.S. Census figures also tell us that 57.8 percent of the U.S. population is White; 18.7 percent is Hispanic/Latino; 12.4 percent is Black; 5.9 percent is Asian; 4.1 percent is two or more races; and 1.1 percent is American Indian/Alaskan Native. The Hispanic/Latino percentage of our population has grown 23 percent from 2010 through 2020. They are the largest ethnic minority group in America and are expanding that position. These are the official government facts: https://www.census.gov/ .

It is estimated that Boomers (born 1946-1964) represent about 20 percent of the population. That would be around 67 million people. The Gen Xers came along in 1965-1980 and represent about 18 percent of our population. Those Americans born 1981-1996 are considered Millennials and represent about 22 percent of the population. That translates to roughly 72.5 million people…making them the largest generational segment of our American population. Gen Zers were born in the years 1997-2012.

Now I do not know who…or why…or what…contributes to the media advertising that inundates our daily lives; I have no practical experience in the marketing industry. No doubt, it is driven primarily by money; but it appears to me that one of the main elements in today’s advertising is style and messaging…as opposed to product information. I suspect that part of my dismay and puzzlement with such advertising results from the simple fact that I am a 73 year old Boomer and simply out of touch with the latter generations that populate the ad agency segment of the business world. Whatever the reasons might be, I must confess that the overwhelming majority of the advertising I see around me either makes no sense whatsoever, appears to be much more vested in image and presentation than the substance of the product or cause, and is often indecipherable to the point of not even mentioning or presenting the product or cause being advertised.

But here is the true mystery in this matter: Is not the purpose of advertising an effort to get someone viewing the advertisement to purchase a product, avail themselves of a service, or support a specific cause? If that is true…then why in the world would these corporations and businesses who spend millions (billions?) of dollars on advertising apparently ignore the aforementioned and following realities? It is estimated that the Boomer generation controls 51 percent of the wealth in this nation today; that would be about 85 trillion dollars. The Gen Xers and the Millennials…combined…control as estimated 10.6 percent of America’s wealth; that being about 17.5 trillion dollars. Excuse me if I am mistaken on this, but I have always understood that targeted purchasers of a product or a service should be those individuals who are financially capable of purchasing a particular product or service?

Once again, taking into account my inadequacy in the field of marketing and advertising…I will present for your consideration an explanation of this obvious conundrum. The corporations and businesses of America are largely controlled (managed) by Gen Xers and Millennials. These individuals make up the CEOs and advertising executives who ultimately determine the content of the advertising that we experience. These young, intelligent, ambitious folks are predominantly college graduates who are exiting an education system that is largely insulated from diverse ideologies and perspectives. It is a bubble environment where individuals tend to talk, debate, and discuss ideals among themselves; seldom venturing out to uncomfortable places or entertaining thoughts/ideas that run counter to what they are being taught by academia.

Once they graduate and move into the world of career development, they carry this bubble philosophy with them. Constrained by the limited amount of exposure they’ve had to opposing or different thoughts and preferences, they ply their talents towards a form of advertising that is pretty much defined by the standards and elements of the bubbles which they have been…and continue…living in. They do impressive work…but that product is limited by their lack of vision or expansive thinking. Even worse than not realizing this deficiency in their understanding of how their messaging is received and who their marketing targets should be…it seems to me remarkable that someone in this advertising mix doesn’t point out this vacuum and rectify it.

I have two children…a late Gen Xer and an early Millennial. Both of them, like their generational friends and peers, are great individuals. I respect them; I love them and would lay down my life for them. They are smart, have good work ethics and morals, and are full of caring with big hearts. But I must say…there are times when they are totally clueless. They are of generations who have been, to a large degree, privileged. They are also of generations who have never really been tested in a significant way by wars, depressions, or severe deprivation; I hope they never are. But reality dictates there are some lessons in life that must be lived and cannot be taught; they have not lived those lessons. Even more grievous is the fact that many of them refuse to even acknowledge this gap in their understanding and for those who do…they ignore or discount the knowledge and wisdom gleaned from such adversity.

To cap off this discussion, it must be pointed out that it is entirely likely the ultimate decision makers in this process of determining what type of marketing or advertising we are exposed to in our daily lives…is predominantly a group of wealthy corporate board members or business owners who happen to be Boomers themselves. They would be the ones who put the Gen Xers or Millennials in charge of the marketing shop and turn them loose to their own ends. I don’t know about you, but that strikes me as being quite ironic. Why would these folks enable and endorse a form of marketing that does not seem to jive with their generational characteristics? I suppose at least a partial explanation for this is the fact that many of these folks are uber-wealthy and it is quite possible that the uber-wealthy simply don’t concern themselves with marketing or advertising. That is, of course…assuming it is not a marketing faux pas of such magnitude as to rock the company…ala Bud Light or Cracker Barrel.

Bringing this piece full circle, the upshot of the entire process to me is this: Excessive tolerance and virtue signaling have become personal traits of significant value to Gen Xers and Millennials. This is not intended as a judgment, but simply an observation. I believe this is due to that bubble environment that I alluded to earlier. To me…an avowed Boomer…virtue signaling is thin gruel and is the equivalent of talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk. Perhaps I, the typical Boomer, am the one that is out of touch and simply detached from reality. But I must say that based on my life experience, when one ventures out to emphasize style over substance and preening over production…one is traveling on thin ice and shaky foundations. I will leave with this note: After carefully considering the facts presented in the earlier part of this piece…does this type of virtue signal-driven marketing really make any business or financial sense?

If an alien visiting our planet for the first time based their impression of America solely on the media marketing and advertising that exists in our nation today…would they get an accurate impression of what America actually is? Are we really as shallow and pliable as the marketing universe assumes us to be? I think not. I hope not. It is not a reach to also submit that the out-of proportion detachment from reality that I have tried to illustrate in marketing and advertising also exists in America’s culture, society, and politics. Review those numbers once again and think about that.

Now we come to a time where I must indulge in a moment of self reflection. Do I…as an aging Boomer whose life is mostly in the rear view mirror…feel somewhat marginalized or ignored because the movers and shakers in this world…mostly made up of Gen Xers and Millennials…don’t really concern themselves with me or my generation? Perhaps a bit. Should I more readily acknowledge that the bubble inhabitants of Gen Z and Millennial have no more…or less…empathy for my Boomer bubble than my generational co-habitants have for theirs? Most certainly, yes. Is it probably the case that I look back at them with a more thoughtful and analytical attitude than they assume when looking at us? Absolutely. Why do you suppose that is? Most likely because most of “their” lives lie ahead of them.

The Gen Xers and the Millennials now behave just as we Boomers did while we were chasing our careers, raising our families, and trying to figure out the world around us. We were then fully consumed by ourselves and the environment we fit into and interacted with; that was our bubble. No doubt, at that time and place, the Greatest Generation (1901-1924) and the Silent Generation (1925-1945)…in the last chapters of their lives…looked backwards at us Boomers with the same contemplative notions. Such is the gloriously colorful and texturally diverse tapestry known as America. Such is the cycle of life.