Pepsi Recognizes Gen Y Optimism, But Fails to Follow Through

Pepsi just launched a new marketing campaign based on results from a research project called the "Pepsi Optimism Project (POP)." POP concluded that despite the tough economy, 94% of Millennials are optimistic about the future.

The marketing campaign started with a facelift to the Pepsi logo that turns it into a more uplifting look, giving the consumer the sense that it's a smile. Next they launched a series of advertisements with bright, flashy colors, a catchy song and the welcoming words "Yo," "Hello," "Aloha," etc., giving the ad a sort-of Apple 2008 meets 90's boy band "pop" feel.

At first thought, it seems a little strange that Pepsi would decide to play to Gen Y's supposed optimism when we're smack dab in the middle of the worst economy since the great depression. But in reality, it's really smart. In the past few years, Gen Y has had its fair share of negative labels, but one thing you always hear is that we are eternally optimistic. We're optimistic because until now, we've never faced a tough economy, we grew up with free-spending baby boomer parents, and if we couldn't afford something, our credit cards always could (Yes, I'm generalizing here).

So even though we are facing some challenging times, deep down, we still believe that everything is going to turn out just fine. Pepsi figured this out with some in depth analysis. And for that, I say, "good job!"

But here's the thing. The commercials won't work.

The commercials won't work because even though Pepsi did its research and concluded that Gen Y is optimistic by nature, they forgot to dig a little deeper. If they had, they would have found an optimistic group of 20-somethings that happens to be very realistic as well.

The realist in me does not want to see bright colors and sing along commercials proclaiming optimism for the future. The realist in me wants to see that Pepsi is doing something to help people out during these tough times. I want to see Pepsi cares about their consumers and that Pepsi is going to stand next to us optimistic Millennials and fight the good fight to get through the tough times.

Yes, Gen Y is optimistic, but we're not naïve enough to think we can close our eyes and ignore what's happening and expect some higher power to fix things. We want to do the fixing, and we want the brands we choose to associate with to help us out.

There are some companies who seem to "get it." Hyundai's new commercial talks about their newest program that will buy you car back if you lose your income in the next year. That's pretty cool. Hyundai is essentially saying, "We recognize the crisis and we want to make money. But we have a heart." The company is doing something to help, and they are sharing that information in their ads.

IBM's new smarter planet ads all center on the people who are doing the actual work to make a difference in one way or another. They give the viewer a reason to believe that IBM is more than just a huge brand name, and that the people who work for them are optimistic about the future BECAUSE they are doing something to make it better, which validates the optimism.

So, Pepsi, if you're strictly trying to appeal to the Gen Y tweens and teens who haven't experienced life away from home, this campaign may have a chance. But if you want to reach the coveted twenty-something demographic, it's probably time to rethink things. I would ask one simple question, "How is the Pepsi brand giving Gen Y a reason to be optimistic?" If you can answer that question, you've got your new ad. If you can't, than it's safe to assume that advertising is the least of your concerns.

Is Gen-Y the First Post-Racial Generation?

The place went crazy. People jumped on tables and raised their hands in victory. Others were hooting and hollering, high fiving friends and ordering round of shots for complete strangers.

No, I'm not remembering an awesome rock concert. And I'm not having flashbacks to watching my favorite football team play for the national championship. I'm thinking about the upcoming presidential inauguration and I'm remembering the scene that took place one month ago.

We were in the middle of New York City – in Soho, at a bar with a diverse group of professionally dressed twentysomethings. It was November 4, 2008 and CNN had just officially announced that Barack Obama would be the 44th president of the United States of America.

The scene was magical. I couldn't help but look around with a huge smile on my face. I was watching history, and all I wanted to do was soak it in.

Then John McCain took the stage for his concession speech. The bar went silent. Everyone turned toward the television. And some of the first words that came out of John McCain's mouth (after "My Friends" of course) were about the special significance that this election had for African Americans.

The bar immediately started booing. I looked at my friend Keith and said, "Why does it have to be about race?" He shook his head and remained silent. None of us wanted this election to be about race. To us, it was never about race. It was about hope and change and the future of our country.

Remember, this was not a bar full of people who all looked the same. It was an extremely diverse group of all races and cultures. And nearly every single one of us did not think John McCain should have brought up Barack Obama's race.

"What's the point? Who cares?" We thought.

Then something weird happened. The pundits came on and every single one of them acknowledged race and how significant this was for African Americans. To me, and the rest of us in the bar, this was really surprising. Race wasn't a factor in our minds, but it was obviously at the very top of the list for everyone talking about the election – everyone who just happened to be much older than us.

Over the next day, I watched pundit after pundit and television host after television host talk about the historical significance of the election, and it sunk in that, yes this election was very much about race – for everyone who could remember the days of segregation.

But for a generation of people who have only read about separate water fountains for whites and blacks, and Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus, and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech," this election was purely about a new direction for the world and the one man who may be able to guide us there.

So, when I presented on a panel on the afternoon of November 5, and the panel host asked us, "Is Generation Y the first truly post-racial generation?"

I thought back to the night before and said,

"Almost."

For one, I can't possibly speak on such a big issue for an entire demographic of people. And secondly, despite what I felt and witnessed at the bar in Soho that night, I'm not sure if I totally believe our generation is post-racial.

What do you guys think? Is Gen-Y the first post-racial generation? Is this even a conversation worth having?

This Is What Happens When Good Community Goes Bad

Last week, Penn State (my alma mater) overcame its most difficult football challenge of the season—defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes. The aftermath was boisterous. A celebration for Penn State fans everywhere. But back in State College, PA, boisterous turned into raucous way too quick.

Students flooded the streets. Beaver Canyon, the core of off-campus life, became a sea of blue and white. And when I first watched the footage I thought, "Awesome!" But I changed my mind.

You see, I love Penn State. It's still a huge part of my life. And when something remarkable happens to that community, I can be as rowdy as they come. But when a community as great as Happy Valley turns on itself—and ends up hurting itself— it's just way too ugly to ignore.

Communities are a wonderful thing—college communities, neighborhood communities, online communities—and most accomplish great things. But sometimes, communities can turn dangerous. And last week at Penn State was a perfect example.

It's easy to be an asshole in chaotic situations.

I first found out about the Penn State riot online. My younger frat bros who are still in school had pictures up on Facebook. A few sorority girls I knew had links to the footage on Instant Messenger saying how "fucking awesome" it was. To be fair, that was my first reaction too.

But things got ugly. And they didn't get ugly because of a community of criminals. They got ugly because of a handful of criminals scattered amidst thousands in a massive celebration.

A couple of meatheads, drunk off their own stupidity, thought it would be cool to rip down some street lights. Or break some bottles. Or smash some cop-car windows. And everybody suffered.

This kind of thing happens in communities all the time. Big or small, minority behavior tends to put us all in a whacked out situation. It even happens with communities online.

It's like that blog post that organically creates passionate response. Usually the response is civil … but then someone realizes they can say anything they want, with no consequence. And a passionate, engaging dialogue turns sour.

And guess who usually gets burned in this equation? It's not the person who was just there to throw some stones. It's the people who showed up to genuinely enjoy the celebration. They're the ones who end up with mace in their eyes.

And then the blame game begins …

I don't know what happened first at PSU, the rioting or the mace. I'm pretty sure nobody will ever truly know. But regardless, we'll still try to place blame months from now no matter what.

Students will blame the cops, because let's face it: cops are the Anti-Christ to a college kid. And the cops will blame the students, because they're just the spoiled-rotten kids their job forces them to deal with seven days a week. And when I read the post-riot articles online, I can really sympathize with both sides.

Fortunately, the online communities I've experienced are far tamer. But the blame game remains the same. Because how individuals act within any community affects how the entire community is perceived.

If some wild card decided to get slanderous tomorrow on Brazen, there wouldn't be any long-term damage. But someone is going to be offended, or hurt. And when you're trying to build a community that respects one another despite their differences in opinion, you do your best to make sure nobody walks away bruised.

And there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Just like overcoming great odds as an individual, communities that overcome great odds become stronger and more composed once the next obstacle erupts. The Penn State community will, and so will any other community that looks at what they did wrong the first time and makes changes in response.

I think the first step is to recognize how powerful we are when united. With that unity we can do great things, but can also wreak havoc. And sometimes pride and passion are great catalysts for people with violent intentions.

But I don't think that means that we should dilute ourselves either. We just have to be more aware of the actions of the people around us. And if they're malicious, it's our responsibility to do something about it. And it's harder to do than you think.

But I think that's a leadership skill many of us don't use that often, maybe we don't even have it. But it's certainly one that every community needs.

Job Security Is a Dumb Goal (And a Survey with Some Cool Prizes)

A couple of weeks ago I attended a "future of work" retreat. Many people presented their research, but one specific trend consistently showed up, and truthfully I'm amazed by it — Generation Y values job security more than anything else.

At first glance, this seems crazy because Gen Y is job hopping every couple of years and employers can't figure out how to get us to stick around. But as I thought about it a little more and I discussed the topic with other retreat attendees, it made total sense. We grew up watching our parents get laid off, then we went to college and saw the collapse of Enron, Arthur Andersen and others, and even now, we're watching Wall Street completely screw up the economy. Couple that with the rapid pace of change we've seen throughout our lives, and a little security sounds pretty comforting.

But here's the thing. We shouldn't be looking for job security. And companies shouldn't promise it. Promising job security means promising employment. And when everything changes at the blink of an eye, no company can promise employment. But what they should be able to promise is employability.

Promising employability means that a company is promising to provide you with the right mix of training, skills, experience, and mentoring, which will ultimately leave you employable no matter what happens with your current job. The best security you can have is the security of having the skills that employers need—the skills that make you employable.

So, when you go on your next job interview or when you talk to your boss about your career plans, ask him what the company is doing to make you employable. If he can quickly give you a list of five things, congratulations, you're secure. If he's stumped, it's time to rethink the job you're in.

Many companies have no idea how to provide Generation Y with the skills we need to be employable. So, they need our help. Jeanne Meister is researching and writing a book to help companies understand what Gen Y really wants. She has the ear of corporate America, but she's asking for a little help and insight from us – Gen Y.

CLICK HERE to take the Four Generations @ Work survey and do your part in helping Corporate America understand what changes they need to make. And hey, if for no other reason, there are some pretty cool prizes you could win if you take the survey by October 15.

The Prizes:
1. Ipod Touch
2. Flip Camera
3. $50 gift certificate to Amazon

Generation Y: Inheriting a World That Must be Fixed

"Young people today can't repay their college loans; they can't afford apartment rents, let alone mortgages; their Social Security is being sucked up by their elders; and H.I.V. left them out of the sexual revolution: what was once free love is now a viral minefield."

I didn't say it. The New York Times did. And this was before the disaster that took place on Capitol Hill yesterday.

The article, written by Alessandra Stanley, goes on to say that the pending economic crisis, which has since become not so pending, "is confirming the worst fears of Gen-Y, namely that our baby boomer parents are leaving us a world convulsed by war, drowning in debt and melting down under global warming."

She's got a point. The world, and more specifically, The United States, is screwed up right now. The House just rejected a $700 Billion rescue plan, effectively causing the largest drop in the stock market since 1987. And the word is that House members pending reelections played a major role in the rejection. You've got to be kidding me.

But way before the most recent "Black Monday," for years, us 20-somethings have been graduating into a world where we are buried in debt before stepping foot into our first job, and dealing with living expenses that are often more than average starting salaries. Our generation has inherited a world that needs some serious fixing.

And yesterday was just the final straw in what's been a disastrous 8 years for America. But, as bad as yesterday was, it may be a blessing in disguise.

When we look back on Monday, September 29, 2008, will we say that it was the beginning of the end, or will we say that it was the day America took a long hard look in the mirror and decided to make a change?

I'll choose the latter.

I'll choose it, because I see a group of 20 and 30-something's prepared to clean up the mess. Blaming our parents, or Congress, or the baby boomers, or even the President, won't get us anywhere. But recycling, going green, being fiscally responsible, starting non-profits, starting for-profits, and actively involving ourselves in the presidential election is a good start.

Despite our youth, and despite the fact that we aren't in traditional positions of authority, I see Generation Y, or as I recently saw us referred to as, Generation We, pushing change and making progress in every area.

In Washington D.C., the Progressive Happy Hour group is hosting debate parties and constantly trekking over to Virginia, vowing to knock on 100,000 doors in hopes of turning the battleground state blue before November 4.

Yesterday, I spoke with Jordan Goldman, a recent college grad who decided he'd had enough of universities providing high school seniors with inaccurate, boring and often misleading descriptions about their outrageously priced schools. So, he gathered a team and started Unigo, a company that puts the message back in the hands of the people who really know what the school is all about–the students.

In a couple of hours I have a meeting with Rich Littlehale, a Yale student and budding social entrepreneur, who recently started Twigtek, a company that helps organizations raise money by collecting old cell phones and helping the environment.

The list goes on and on. Young people have looked at the disastrous situation this country is in and decided to do something about it -way before "Black Monday" caused mass panic.

As Progressive Happy Hour organizer Brian Komar eloquently explains, we are in the midst of the NEXT Progressive Movement. He says, "Change doesn't come from parties. It comes from movements. This movement will bring the change America needs. Young people are always the early adopters, and this time younger people are paving the way. . . . My sincere hope is that this movement becomes multigenerational."

This is the attitude that Generation Y has demonstrated, and must continue to demonstrate. Because it's not about being a hero; it's about working together and making smart decisions for the greater good because we see the mess that we've been dealt. And when you see a mess, there's only one thing left to do: clean it up.