The MP3 Youth Movement

Brandweek, July 3, 2000 by Todd Wasserman

Such criticism comes with being on the front line of technology, said Bob Nell, vp-personal digital products for Sony. "Over time, as the technology advances, maybe some of those steps will be reduced," he said. "Look at the first PCs, how clunky and complex they were to use. We're not overly concerned with it."

The companies are also demanding a price premium for their brands. While the I-Jam sells for $129, Sony's Memory Stick Walkman has a $379 price tag. That figure is justified for the "convenience, size and coolness," the device provides, Nell said. For such players as I-Jam, however, there is little profit margin. The biggest factor is for flash memory which is also used in digital cameras and wireless phones. With flash memory sales projected to grow from $4.5 billion last year to $10 billion this year, the world's factories can't produce enough and prices remain high.

If tech headaches with digital audio players don't give CE companies pause, Gen Y-focused advertising might: the demo seems to prefer an edgier approach that might force venerable CE brands into uncomfortable positions. TRU's Michael Wood said that the most popular spots with teens-including 7Up's "Make 7Up Yours" campaign, Taco Bell's Chihuahua and the Budweiser frogs-are a little unconventional and experimental. Paradoxically he said, teens also like ads that attempt to strike an honest pose, like Sprite's "Image is Nothing" campaign.

In the past, companies that have been able to break through to Gen Y have done so with a similar approach that the Fox TV Network used to reach the demo in the early '90s: irreverence and envelope-pushing. Sony for example, launched its PlayStation in 1995 with the exclusive rights to Mortal Kombat 3, a home version of the arcade blockbuster that had been criticized for its excessive violence. Sony advertised another title, Battle Arena Toshinden, with images of Sofia (a whip-wielding, cleavage-bearing, leather-wearing martial arts expert) and the question, "Like to be humiliated by women? Here's your dream date. Worship me." Another title, Total Eclipse Turbo, promised, "The more you kill, the better you feel!"

Five years later, while the violence has been toned down, bad taste reigns. Sega is considering a TV commercial this fall that will feature two women in a whirlpool have a flatulence competition, complete with bubbles. Even Nintendo is planning a title aimed at college-age users full of "South Park bad-boy attitude," said marketing vp George Harrison.

Considering the edgy and offbeat advertising needed to lure the demo, some are wary of a Gen Y focused pitch. "You don't want to alienate your base," said Patrick Griffin, marketing manager for Compaq's Presario products," Compaq is very family-oriented. The stuff that appeals to teens is a little avante garde and counter to the Compaq position and the family position of Presario."

So far, CE companies have been pretty tame in their advertising approaches. RCAs $20 million umbrella campaign for Lyra and other select products last fall, via Lowe, Lintas & Partners, New York, gently used cutting-edge technology as a wedge between Gen Yers and their baby boomer parents. One execution shows a 20-ish man in shades with greasy spiked hair with the caption written in a faux computer dialog box: "Your mom just bought a portable CD player. It's time to move on." Another one, featuring a young redheaded woman with a nose-ring, states, "By the time a song debuts on the radio, you're so over it."