Toyota Says Scionara

"As the Detroit Auto Show kicks off this week, Cadillac will introduce its first compact luxury coupe, the 2015 ATS Coupe, designed to appeal to younger consumers..."  Fast Company

“Advertising on the Super Bowl broadcast with talent like Beckham (23) and Ratajkowski (24) fits nicely into Buick's mission of remaking its image to appeal to a younger audience..." Edmunds.com

Here at The Ad Contrarian Global Headquarters, we've been marveling for years at the stupidity of marketers' obsession with young people.

Not that there's anything wrong with young people. It's just that they have no money, they can't afford to buy very much, and when they grow up and have money, they behave just like every other generation that was supposed to be completely different.

Meanwhile, people over 50 have and spend most of the globe's money. Or as PJ O'Rourke put it, "whenever anything happens anywhere, somebody over 50 signs the bill for it.”

The worst offenders are the automotive industry. Every time a car company releases a new vehicle the rationale is always the same: We're trying to attract a younger audience.

It's hard to find an auto ad without a young person in it. Meanwhile people 75-to-dead buy 6 times as many new cars as people 18-to-24.

How about a car company trying to attract an older audience? Ya know, like the people who buy 60% of cars.

A couple of years ago The Wall Street Journal reported on this phenomenon. They wrote about "youth cars" i.e., cars targeted at 18-34 year olds. An astounding 88% of these "youth cars" were bought by people over 35.

Apparently one car company has finally come to its senses. Toyota announced last week that it is burying its awesomely young and hip Scion brand -- its much ballyhooed entry into the "youth car" category.

According to Toyota, 50% of Scions have been sold to people under 35. According to Industry Week...

"Scion has consistently been the youngest brand in the auto industry with an average age of 36 years old.."

Scion was the unchallenged king of all youth brands in the auto industry. What does being popular with young people get you these days? 1/3 of 1% share of market.

According to official Toyota propaganda regarding the whacking of the Scion brand...

"They (young people) like their parents, have come to appreciate the Toyota brand and its ... quality, dependability and reliability. At the same time, new Toyota vehicles have evolved to feature the dynamic styling and handling young people desire.”

When you get past the self-serving corporate bullshit, what that means is this: As they're growing up, young people are, ahem, behaving just like every other generation that was supposed to be completely different.

Youth cars? Scionara.