20 brands catching baby boomers’ attention right now

Ice cream brand Blue Bell is hot among baby boomers. The brand tops the inaugural Ad Age-Harris Poll Boomer brand tracker, which ranks brands that made significant progress in gaining attention from boomers in the fourth quarter of 2023. Ad Age has already been tracking brands making strides with Gen Z quarterly. The new boomer report focuses on brands gaining notice from people ages 59 to 77. Texas-based Blue Bell has been expanding northward, opening a new distribution facility in St. Louis, and another expansion at its facility in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The brand also launched a limited-time Dr Pepper flavor, meant to imitate the taste of a Dr Pepper float. Blue Bell was also popular among Gen Z last quarter. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Blue Bell (@bluebellicecream) Published quarterly, the Ad Age-Harris Poll brand trackers use data sourced from the Harris Poll's brand management tool, QuestBrand, to identify and rank brands with the greatest quarter-over-quarter increase in Brand Equity among a certain generation— that is, how much a generation's perception of these brands is changing from quarter to quarter. Other brands cracking the boomer poll’s top five are Subaru, Legoland, Absolut and Fisher Investments. Top Boomer brands by brand equity growth Brands are ranked by change in brand equity scores among Boomer consumers. Hover or click over brands to see more details, including factors that make up the score and gains or losses each brand made with other generations. Scroll to see the full list. *Consideration quantifies consumers’ likelihood to purchase a product or service; Momentum measures consumers’ perception of whether a brand is gaining or losing market position against its competitors; Quality signals how consumers perceive the quality of a particular brand’s product or service compared to the quality of their competitors’ offerings; Familiarity shows how recognizable a brand is to the general population. Numbers displayed for each of these attributes show the change in the raw score for Boomers from Q3 to Q4. Demographic numbers show how much the brand equity score increased for each generation, compared with the previous quarter. Source: Harris Poll. Credit: Infographic by Ad Age. Below, a closer look at the trends behind the fourth-quarter poll. Snacks and drinks It was a good quarter for snack brands, with Goldfish, Talenti and Nature Valley all making the list along with Blue Bell. Quiznos and Whole Foods rounded out the food category. Absolut and Mtn Dew repped the alcohol category. Goldfish (8th) rolled out strawberry shortcake grahams for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary and made crunchier Goldfish Crisps, baked chips in the shape of Goldfish. The rise of General Mills-owned Nature Valley (20th) came as competitor Quaker Oats was burdened by a recall related to salmonella, Nature Valley also rolled out a new line of smoothie-inspired protein bars. Blue Bell wasn’t the only dessert to make the list. Talenti (11th), the maker of sorbets and gelatos, went viral on TikTok when one user could not unscrew the lid, garnering 11.5 million views. In other news, former chairman of Talenti and former congressman Dean Phillips has been challenging President Biden in the Democratic primary. Mtn Dew (10th) got a boost from Hard Mtn Dew, an alcoholic version of the soda, whose marketing has included throwing a party at a Florida retirement village, an example of the trend of brands using so-called granfluencers, creators whose ages range from 50 to over 100 years old. “Top-performing brands smartly navigate our evolving media ecosystem and what is hot in the culture—and in the case of Hard Mountain Dew surging among Boomers, they effectively reinvent and repackage established brands for new audiences,” said Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hard Mountain Dew (@hardmountaindew) Whole Foods (9th) has been expanding in the U.S., including in Las Vegas. Sandwich chain Quiznos (7th) rolled out a chicken sandwich with peri peri sauce, and brought back the Spongemonkeys, the brand’s rodent-like mascots with human eyes and teeth. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Quiznos Spongmonkeys (@spongmonkeys) Vodka brand Absolut (fourth) launched a collaboration with Ocean Spray for a pre-mixed vodka-cranberry. It also collaborated with Kahlua for an espresso martini perfume that retailed for $105, as well as a cocktail kit to make the drink instead of smelling like it. Leaning even more into the espresso martini craze, the brand worked with Jesse Tyler Ferguson on an ad. Absolut also released limited-edition bottles with creative studio Sticky Monster Lab and British singer and actor Olly Alexander. The best and worst Super Bowl ads Ad Age reviews the Big Game commercials Click here Tech sector A few technology, internet and streaming companies also gained ground with boomers in late 2023. Verizon’s Fios (6th) resolved a carriage contract dispute over higher prices with Sinclair Broadcast Group, returning local news and sports channels to the Fios lineup. As part of a limited-time holiday promotion, new Fios customers were given an Xbox Series X game console and up to $300 in gift cards. Forty-three percent of baby boomers are video game enthusiasts, according to a 2023 report from gaming industry researcher Newzoo. Disney+ (12th), which also made the most recent Gen Z poll, stood out for its expanded content and seasonal movies, including “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Surprise, Demigods!Stream the two-episode premiere of #PercyJackson and the Olympians NOW on #DisneyPlus and the first episode on @Hulu. pic.twitter.com/HSHdftFfSt— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) December 20, 2023 Web browser DuckDuckGo (17th) rolled out app tracking protection for Android users, and Apple considered using DuckDuckGo as the default browser for Apple products. T-Mobile (13th) announced fines for illegal mass spam texts, according to Vonage (something we can all get behind). Ad Age Leading Women Luncheon Join us Aug. 7 in New York as we recognize this year’s honorees Buy your ticket today Automakers Subaru (second) and Rivian (18th) were the two automakers that gained attention among boomers. Subaru announced a Forester hybrid for 2026, and the brand raised U.S. factory wages after the United Auto Workers union made a deal with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Electric vehicle maker Rivian plans to roll out its more affordable R2 model. Here is a look at some of the other brands that made the list. Legoland (3rd) put on its first-ever holiday drone show in upstate New York, and set up Lego holiday events in Texas and Philadelphia. Legoland also put on New Year’s Eve festivities in Florida and California. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LEGOLAND New York (@legoland.newyork) Boomers may be familiar with Fisher Investments (5th) for helping them plan for retirement. Founder Ken Fisher is often on the news, still giving his take on stocks. Boot brand Ugg (14th), which was the top brand in the recent Gen Z tracker, seems to have resonated with older generations as a “Dad shoe” —meaning they are chunky, comfortable and easy to get on. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UGG® (@ugg) UNICEF (15th) has come to the fore for its attention on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In October, Wayfair (16th) got ahead of holiday shopping with its Way Day sale. It followed that with a Cyber Monday sale in November, along with a holiday campaign. Barstool Sportsbook (19th) was folded into the ESPN Bet platform. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

20 brands catching baby boomers’ attention right now

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