During my life, I have become accustomed to knowing that I was part of a group known as the “Baby Boomers”. It is a title to be worn proudly. We are the offspring of our parents whom have been called the “Greatest Generation”. Our parents who drew strength and accomplishment from the issues of their time, the Great Depression and World War II. We, the children of these great ones, are the boomers.

What I have not become accustomed to is that this group has a very “big” say so in what goes on in our world. Well maybe not THAT much but we are significant and there are many that pay a real attention to what we like and what we want.

For those that do not know about Baby Boomers, we were born between 1946 and 1964. Half of the 77 million boomers have already turned 50 years of age. We represent 27.5 percent of the U.S population. We represent 45.8 million households with an average household pretax income of $57,700 and we will spend annually $2.1 trillion.

What does all that mean?

It means we have significant influence in the market place. It means we will help decide what is offered, when, where and how.

What does that mean?

We will guide the marketing staffs of the world in our direction. They will tailor everything from clothing to store design to our wants and needs. They will spend a lot of time and money finding out what we want to eat, drink, what we will wear, and drive in, and how we want to be entertained.

It also means that we will receive the benefits, whatever they are, of the recently approved stimulus package. The down side, I fear, is that we will leave our grandchildren a large debt to pay for our borrowing. That, however, is a subject of its own and will not be addressed in this column.

So far, we have delivered a message that implies we are grown ups, not just big kids. We have better credit scores and we buy more expensive items than any other age group. Television has noticed this and has adjusted programming to capture more of our age group. Programs such as CSI and NCIS are not just strokes of luck. They are designed for the “boomer” group. We do not want to watch replays of past shows. We are not set in our ways as one might think. We want something fresh. The CBS network has caught on and over the past few years has produced many programs with acting talents from our group. Mark Harmon of NCIS is one of these.

We “baby boomers” believe that fifty something can be beautiful. We think Goldie Hawn as recently seen in a swimsuit on a beach is ready for the cover of the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. It was recently reported that Unilever Groups’ Dove soap marketing group conducted market research around the world after determining that the present market campaign was “stuck” in a young and slim mode. The new ad campaign turned tradition on its head by featuring ordinary women instead of glamorous models. One ad was captioned with “Why aren’t women glad to be gray?” Sales of Dove rose 3.4 percent as compared to the previous year. Not bad for soap. Watch for those cosmetic ads on TV that will more and more present “reality” as their theme.

There are other themes. Such as “I am rewinding, not winding down.” We are much better prepared for our empty nest years. We are committed to living a longer and healthier life. We are becoming amateur nutritionists responding to themes such “antioxidant”, and “healthy heart”.

We are not “locked in” by brand. We are more likely to try something different than any other age group. We believe in unlimited possibility. We look for novelty and are willing to experiment. This is most true in health care and cosmetics. We are willing to try that new import hybrid. We are also willing to work longer and to try a new business or career. We are working out to stay healthy and we love to be wired into the latest technology. We want to be 20 years younger, but we are proud of our experience and worldliness. Gray hair and wrinkles are ok.

It has been written that marketers who ignore the “boomers” do so at their own peril. What do we think of Cover Girl magazine when they dropped Christie Brinkley from the cover page? Do we want to count the days to retirement, or are we likely to search for that new adventure?

I, for one, am happy to be where I am in life. I think it is cool to be gray. So bring on the technology, the new brands and the healthy life style. It’s never to late to get on board.

Let us continue to lead. Let’s show ‘em the way,” boomers. When we get to the stairs, let’s go UP “em”.

(Creighton Kelly is a columnist with the LaGrange Writers Group)