Viagra turned 10 recently.
When I heard about that, what crossed my mind was holy crap, Viagra has been out for a decade?!, followed by holy crap, 1998 was ten freakin’ years ago!!

My mind was too busy being shell-shocked at the concept of how quickly time passes to think of the obligatory Viagra joke.

Nineteen-ninety-eight. Viagra was still a fresh late-night punchline, 9/11 was nonexistent and I was in the middle of my formative teenage years. Along with the rest of Generation Y. The milestone events we saw in the media then provide the backstory to what we see and read about today.

Let’s take a look at what the world looked like in 1998.

There was no Google
Google was founded September 7, 1998. How did I ever live without having the world at my fingertips? I’m sure I’m not the only one who hops on Google whenever they want to randomly look something up, or to settle a bet.

My Heart Will Go On
One of the blessings of MP3 players is that you can tune out really obnoxious, overplayed songs. Back then, lucky for you if you happened to be walking around with a CD player, a MiniDisc, or even a Walkman, but they weren’t nearly as ubiquitous as iPods are today.

I did not…have…sexual…relations…
The Clinton sex scandal. Ten years ago, Americans had a president with a 73% approval rate, despite being impeached. Today, they have one with 31%. Looks like Dubya needs to find some extramarital nookie.
And who would’ve thought the female cuckold would be running for prez?

Friends, Not LC and the Gang
The aspirational TV show of twentysomethings in the nineties was undeniably NBC’s Friends, a group of friends living cool lives and enjoying casual relationships in the big city, with the occasional inter-group drama. Today, we have The Hills, a show about a group of friends living cool lives and enjoying casual relationships in the big city, with the occasional inter-group drama.
And they say there’s no originality left on TV.

McGwire and Sosa
The Roger Maris chase brought baseball back in the spotlight. I’ll admit, this drew me in, big time. I hated baseball until I started following The Chase, and even today I’m still a casual baseball-watcher. It’s too bad that it turns out everyone was mixing ‘roids in their Wheaties.

Windows 98 and 56k
Windows 98 was a smash hit and hinted at the slow, inevitable approach of computing dominance in our lives. The internet was starting to steamroll and the pre-dot-com-bubble era was an exciting time for everyone in tech. Today, everyone is putting their lives online, everyone has an email address, websites exist for virtually every subject, and people everywhere can’t live without their crackberries.

Ginger Snaps
The Spice Girls were at their peak, influencing young females to dress provocatively and sing along to songs about sexual intercourse (I remember my then 6-year-old neighbour singing along to “2 Become 1″ and my being really, really creeped out).
Geri then leaves, starting the slow demise of the group’s popularity. Lucky for them, they reunite ten years later and make an obscene amount of cash on their tour.

Sex and the City, Round 1
SATC debuts, inviting Gen Y females everywhere to emulate women who view sex as fodder for weekly gossip with their girlfriends (thank you, SATC). Millennial teenager girls also learn a lot of one-liners and tricks to keep guys on their toes (eff you, SATC).
Like the Spice Girls, SATC “reunites” ten years later and wishes to make an obscene amount of cash with a movie.

Postscript: Starbucks somehow gets a nod for being a cool place to do work.

The New Reality
Reality shows were gearing up. A&E Biography, True Hollywood Story, Behind The Music, Blind Date were constantly on the air. Survivor would not hit the airwaves 2 years later, but the public had clearly developed an appetite for reality shows. Fast forward to today, and you have the channels dedicated to reality TV, as well as TMZ and Perez Hilton, media which are essentially blatant paparazzi porno.

These are the things that my generation will joke about when we’re 30, 40, 50 years old, and beyond. Looking back on these things, it looks like technology and sexual liberalism will be the hallmarks of Generation Y.

Which is fitting, I guess. After all, we’re the generation that takes pictures and videos of each other while having sex, post them online, then get outed when someone types our names in on Google.

Photo props to normanack.

Millennials are growing up in a time where an online community exists for virtually every interest and lifestyle. They can connect with other people who love chewing ice, other alpaca enthusiasts or people who really, really like pirates.

Some Gen Y-ers are forming communities to celebrate anorexia (pro-ana websites). Pro-ana people have even coined their own buzzword for the lifestyle, calling it thinspiration (thinspo for short). Videos are shared on YouTube, blogs are plentiful and discussion forums are only a search away.

I was amazed when I came across the NYT blog linked above. In previous generations, pro-ana people could not assemble so easily and empower themselves. Today, they can gather online and have open and honest dialogues with each other. Parents and guidance counselors be damned, they have found people who like them and understand them. Together, they can celebrate their lifestyle proudly.

I like how pro-anas can share their experiences and advice to help each other. The part that scares me is that oftentimes this advice is how to harm yourself quicker and easier.

With great power comes great responsibility.

photo from [C]appry

What makes Gen Y tick? Here are 7 professional reports, articles and presentations on Generation Y that will give you a better idea of what goes on in our minds.
All links go to PDFs.

Generation Y Perspectives by NASA
Lots of useful facts and insights in this 90-page presentation. Links Gen Y facts and insights then relates them on how to improve the NASA brand. The fun begins on page 23.

Decoding The Digital Millennials by Harris Research
Great mix of stats and insights, put together in an easy-to-read package. Media consumption and key marketing tactics for millennials.

Who Are The Millennials? by Deloitte Consulting
A brief overview of Gen Y. Key facts, what’s in and out, quotes from experts.

Beyond The Baby Boomers by KPMG
An extensive Gen Y report weighing in at 56 pages. KPMG goes into a lot of detail, comparing consumer attitudes and demographics of the three generations (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y). This report also covers global Gen Y attitudes and opinions.

Generation Y - why worry? by Outsource Marketing
Concise and insightful article on key Gen Y beliefs.

Generation Why? by Lifetime Networks
Report on Generation Y females’ beliefs, covering topics from shopping habits, entrepreneurship and retirement.

Generation Y: The Millennials by NAS Recruitment
Summary of Gen Y demographics and key cultural factors. This deck has a focus for recruiting Gen Y employees and keeping them satisfied.

Ford’s new ad campaign tells customers to “Drive One“.

I was caught off-guard by the sheer simplicity and clarity of the message. With “Drive One”, Ford isn’t trying to inspire anybody. There is no intent to build brand image or brand associations. Poetry, this ain’t. No emotion is evoked by these two words.

I found it strangely refreshing. It is a direct order to the customer. The call to action isn’t embedded in the slogan, it is the slogan. It’s almost like they got tired of trying to be cool, just threw their hands up in their air and said, okay, people, just buy the friggin cars, k?? It cuts through the bullshit and gets to the point.

Is Ford onto something? Maybe advertisers should just have the brand message explicitly in their slogans. There are no lines to read between and no one gets confused.

What would some Gen Y brands say if they were this honest?

Activia

Danone’s use of Bifidus Regularis has caused some controversy, since Bifidus Regularis is nothing more than a made-up word to sound scientific.

Axe

Not too much work to draw this one up. Axe ads are explicit in more ways than one.

Hollister

Only people with 4% bodyfat and perfect facial symmetry wear Hollister. Since you’re wearing Hollister, that must mean you’re one of those people, right?
More thoughts on Hollister here.

I Am Not A Plastic Bag

Anya Hindmarch’s popular, eco-trendy “I Am Not A Plastic Bag” was really nothing more than pretentiousness in the form of a canvas sack.

Red Bull

Red Bull does give you wings…because it has a synergistic effect with alcohol.

Here’s to hoping Ford gets rewarded for their forthrightness.