The Times They Are A-Changin': Boomers Are To Nascar As Millennials Are to Soccer?

Ouch! Major diss. Nielsen is crunching data on how Boomers and Millenials differ with regard to brand affiliations.

The results are stark and confirm some lifestyle choices that are as ugly to read as they are to look at in person.

Millenials, that demographic group also known as Gen Y, are generally considered to have been born in the 1980s and 90s. Boomers? If you dont know who they are by now, just stay under that rock. Millenials claim affinities with trendy web-based brands like Google, Facebook and YouTube. Doritos do make an appearance on the list, but we all know that's for snacking while web-surfing. Boomers, to their eternal shame, appear to embrace brands most likely to induce cardiac arrest: Kraft, Nestle, Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Talk about a generational death wish.

As for athletes, there are some overlaps, primarily among NFL and Olympic sports. Note the heavy TV orientation there. But Millenials favor the NBA and soccer while for Boomers, six out their top ten are Nascar drivers. And we wonder about the reasons for the nation's crisis of obesity and lack of innovation...

Boomers, get off the couch! This is embarrassing. JL

Matt Carmichael reports in Advertising Age:

Earlier this week we learned that people of all political affiliations hear good buzz about Subway -- possibly starting the "Draft Jared" party in the process. Sorry, America. Today we'll dissect brand preference by age group. Not surprisingly, we see Subway making the list of brands boomers and millennials can agree on, although this is from an entirely different data set. The folks who compile the Nielsen/E-Poll N-Score, inspired by an AdAgeStat column on millennial migration, broke out their usual survey into a generational show-down of top brands and athletes.Topping the list of favorite brands for both age groups is Hershey's, edging out candy rival M&M's. What follows is an odd array of iconic brands from packaged goods and technology to shipping, fast food and, um, crayons. Or perhaps Crayola is on here because of smelly markers. The data doesn't say, sadly, but that's going to keep us up tonight.

Among athletes bridging the generation gap we find NFL players and Olympians steal the show. And Derek Jeter. Everyone loves Jeter.

Athletes and brands that both boomers and millennials likeIf you look at the differences, you see striking contrasts. The boomers loves them some Nascar with six of their top 10 favorite "athletes" driving race cars. The millennials side with NBA and soccer stars.

In terms of brands, millennials look a lot like Democrats with tech brands like Google, Amazon and YouTube dominating the list. Boomers gravitate toward some of the most staid brands out there: Campbell's, Nabisco, General Mills, Kellogg's, etc.