New U.S. Census to Reveal Major Shift: No More Joe Consumer†

Ad Age White Paper 2010 America Uncovers the Marketing Implications

Advertising Age, October 12, 2009 — The 2010 Census is expected to find that 309 million people live in the United States. But one person will be missing: the average American.

"The concept of an 'average American' is gone, probably forever," demographics expert Peter Francese writes in 2010 America, a new Ad Age white paper. "The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling."

Where Is Generation X?

They may have grown up listening to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” but a lot of things have changed since then. The Internet came along, for one.

eMarketer, November 3, 2008 — Generation X has come of age. No longer the grungy, ripped-jeans kids Time magazine first described in 1990, Gen Xers are in their peak years of product and service consumption. And they are embracing electronic media more fervently than they were even 18 years ago.