20 brands catching baby boomers’ attention now

Published quarterly, the Ad Age-Harris Poll rankings are sourced from The Harris Poll’s daily brand tracking tool, QuestBrand, to identify companies with the greatest quarter-over-quarter increase in equity among specific age cohorts. Read the last edition of the Gen Z poll here. And check out the previous edition of the baby boomer poll here. Modelo Especial’s college football marketing has paid off with a key constituency. The Mexican import tops the newest Ad Age-Harris Poll Boomer brand tracker, which ranks brands that made significant progress in gaining attention from baby boomers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The poll focuses on brands gaining notice from boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. Modelo’s rise came as the brand leaned into its role as the sponsor of the College Football Playoff, running ads with “The Recruiter,” a sunglasses-wearing cowboy who was looking for “full time” fans to be part of “Team Modelo.” Modelo also partnered with Reggie Bush on a sweepstakes for fans to win a trip to the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Other brands cracking the top five are Goldman Sachs, Shopify, Raising Cane’s and Kohl’s. Recent news: Find out which brands resonate with Gen Z Published quarterly, the Ad Age-Harris Poll rankings are sourced from The Harris Poll’s daily brand tracking tool, QuestBrand, to identify companies with the greatest quarter-over-quarter increase in equity among specific age cohorts—that is, how much a generation’s perception of these brands is changing from quarter to quarter. Top baby boomer brands by brand equity growth Brands are ranked by change in brand equity scores among baby 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 baby 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. Modelo, which is owned by Constellation Brands, has enjoyed strong sales across generations. It gained 0.75 market share points in 2024, reaching 9.5% total beer share, making it the nation’s top-selling brand, ahead of Michelob Ultra and Bud Light, according to Circana data cited by Beer Marketer’s Insights. For Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), Modelo created a “One-in-Six Pack,” representing how one in six people in the U.S. are Hispanic. Fans could bid on the six-pack, which featured a bottle designed and hand painted by Mexican American artist Joseph Anthony Perez (aka sentrock). “Modelo’s brand equity surge reflects a confluence of cultural and market forces—the rise of Mexican imports, shifting preferences favoring premium beers, and seasonal tailwinds heading into the holidays,” Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson wrote in an email. “While millennials have fueled Modelo’s rise to the #1 beer in America since June 2023, this momentum is now reaching older generations. Once tied to younger drinkers and multicultural consumers, Modelo is going mainstream—proof that even legacy-loyal boomers aren’t immune to its cultural and market impact.” It’s not clear if Modelo, which is made in Mexico, will be impacted by President Donald Trump’s tariffs. While Trump postponed until April 2 tariffs for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, “some sources say beer is not exempt while others were unable to definitively state if beer is included in that bucket,” Beer Marketer’s Insights reported on March 7. Fellow Constellation Brands-owned Corona was sixth on the list. Corona also focused on football marketing, with ads starring Eli Manning at a tailgate. Manning also partnered with Corona on a tabletop lime wedge football set. Below, a closer look at some other brands that gained ground with boomers. Food and beverages Raising Cane’s inclusion on the list comes as it outperforms most restaurant industry peers, thanks to menu discipline and breakthrough celebrity-fueled marketing. The chicken finger chain, which was named a 2024 Ad Age Marketer of the Year, has engaged in successful marketing stunts like celebrating its golden birthday (when someone’s date of birth aligns with the age they’re turning) by designing a new store in Boston in gold. It celebrated with former baseball player David "Big Papi” Ortiz, basketball player Jrue Holiday and singer JVKE, all of whom have “gold” in common between MLB and NBA trophies, Olympic medals, and the song “Golden Hour.” In August, Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves appeared on “Shark Tank” as a guest judge. In December, the chain ran its fifth annual Christmas bicycle giveaway with actress Lacey Chabert. Raising Cane’s is known for having celebrity fans work a shift, including sportscaster Kirk Herbstreit and his dog Ben, who worked at a location in Austin, Texas. @raisingcanes Our pick for GAMEDAY: @Kirk Herbstreit ♬ original sound - Raising Cane's Chobani (8th) rolled out a line of higher protein products with Greek yogurt cups with 20 grams of protein, and drinks with 15, 20 or 30 grams of protein in each serving. The brand also released holiday-themed flavors for its creamers and yogurts, including apple pie, peppermint mocha and eggnog, as well as sugar-free sweet cream and salted caramel flavored creamers for National Coffee Day on Sept. 29. Ice cream and cheese brand Tillamook (10th) was deemed the Best Cheddar in the World by the World Cheese Awards and won third place for two other cheeses. Tillamook also opened a market in a newly expanded concourse in Oregon’s Portland International Airport where travelers can try cheesy meals and ice cream. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tillamook (@tillamook) In October, Chick-fil-A (17th) launched its Play app, aimed at families and Gen Alpha. Fans can watch the chain’s holiday “Stories of Evergreen Hills” series, as well as cooking videos, games and podcasts. The brand also brought back its peppermint chip milkshake in November. Ferrero Rocher (18th) partnered with book tracking platform StoryGraph to promote the chocolatier’s new hazelnut and salted caramel chocolate bars. The monthlong “Reading is a Treat” challenge in September featured book prompts for users' next reads. Those who completed the challenge received a free chocolate bar while supplies lasted. Ferrero Rocher also partnered with actress Jennifer Love Hewitt for a holiday hosting campaign. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jennifer Love Hewitt (@jenniferlovehewitt) DoorDash (16th) in September partnered with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick for a social media sweepstakes that fans could enter for a chance to win a cut-off DoorDash hoodie, the outfit of choice for Belichick, who is now at the University of North Carolina. View this post on Instagram A post shared by DoorDash (@doordash) It also reminded consumers that the platform delivers more than just food, with one ad showing a woman coming home to ants having taken over a left out cake and a holiday ad showing a last-minute gift delivery backfiring when a Dasher has to seem like a caroler. DoorDash also ran a Spanish-language campaign, “Hay Comida en la Casa.” Rival Uber Eats (20th) also made the list, adding Spirit Halloween and Stew Leonard’s to its delivery partners; it also started accepting SNAP payments for Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons and Walgreens. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Uber Eats (@ubereats) Below, more on other brands that made the list. Goldman Sachs launched its “10,000 Small Businesses” program in Minnesota and Alabama, which helps rural entrepreneurs by providing training to grow their businesses and funding. Goldman Sachs is also a sponsor of golfer Nelly Korda, who is currently the top-ranked women’s player. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nelly (@nellykorda) For the holidays, Kohl’s offered to pay for a cartful of goods for four customers at each store nationwide every Saturday in December. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kohl's (@kohls) Data-Driven Marketing Playbook Join us May 22 in NYC to explore how data powers marketing Learn more here Home appliances maker JennAir (9th) has been stepping up its influencer marketing, working with “Queer Eye” stylist Tan France and interior designers Matt Sanders and Nicole White. JennAir’s flush dishwasher made the 2024 Architecture Digest Great Design Awards. Travel website Kayak (11th) partnered with OpenTable for a solo travel and dining guide. T-Mobile (12th) announced a partnership with OpenAI to roll out an AI-driven customer experience platform, which the companies say will have the “ability to comprehend customer intent and sentiment in real time.” T-Mobile had to work to reinstate its network after hurricanes Helene and Milton. The wireless carrier also opened registration for its beta program for T-Mobile Starlink (which was the focus of its Super Bowl spot last month.) Legoland (14th) had several holiday-related events, including Brick-or-Treat weekends in October and its 22nd annual tree-lighting ceremony in December. Legoland also partnered with H&M on a small line of clothes for kids. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LEGOLAND California Resort (@legolandcalifornia) Disney+ (19th) streamed the Disney Christmas Day parade and pushed its holiday movies on social media. It added new content including Star Wars’ “Skeleton Crew” and Marvel’s “What If?” It also streamed an NFL game with animation and commentary from Bart and Homer Simpson. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Disney+ (@disneyplus) Top marketers, brands and agency ventures Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of the biggest U.S. and global advertisers and agency companies Click here

20 brands catching baby boomers’ attention now

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