From the book, "  THE AD CONTRARIAN Getting beyond the fleeting trends, false goals, and dreadful jargon of contemporary advertising"

Of all the dumb things that advertisers do, perhaps dumbest of all is aiming their message
too young.

There seems to be an irresistible urge for marketers to target young people despite
monumental evidence that older people have far more money, are more willing to change
brand loyalties, are far easier to reach, and all-in-all make better customers.
Of course, there are some products that rely on the youth market for their survival. But
for most companies, targeting young people is simply senseless. When’s the last time you
saw a car ad with an old person in it? And yet, of the 13 cars the average American will buy
in a lifetime, 8 of them will be bought after the age of 50.

The rationale for always showing young people in ads is the stale canard that older
people want to be like younger people. In fact, not only do older people not want to be like
younger ones but in a recent study half said they tune out when they see a spot pitched