One of the people in this ad was born in 1968. Another was born in 1970. I don't know when the third was born, but she looks like she's maybe 60. But because Consumer Cellular is trapped in the 1990s when it comes to thinking about anyone over the age of thirty, we are told that one huge benefit of Consumer Cellular products is that they are super-easy to use and therefore should be appealing to anyone who has reached an age where anything more complicated than a microwave is befuddling Fairy Tale Magic or something. It's like Consumer Cellular thinks that if you're over thirty, you might as well be Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer without the slightest idea of how all these fancy do-hickies like Personal Computers and Phones You Can Carry Around With You What WILL they think of Next actually function.
Give me a break. Those people who were born in 1968 and 1970 were using PCs in college, and have been online since they were in their mid-20s. They probably got their first cell phone before they reached the age of thirty. So how did using a cell phone and dealing with cell phone bills (we know how disorganized Middle Aged People are when it comes to managing bills, don't we?) become super-complicated and waaaaay over their heads? This just stinks of Old People Are Clueless ageism, and man is that bar for what counts as "too old to handle tech" getting lower by the minute.
And in the meantime, can we go back to showing actual old people in these ads? I know Consumer Cellular wants to expand it's market, but I'm really not ready to see people YOUNGER THAN I AM going for Easy to Understand cell phone services and phones with Big Uncomplicated Buttons Because Everyone Knows Your Brain Stops Working When You Reach That Age. I'm seriously feeling triggered right now- that's the phrase the cool kids are using these days, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment