By Meghana Bhat
Executive Creative Director, Webchutney
This probably makes me sound like an old disgruntled person envious of the age, beauty and promise of immortality that these kids wear on their sleeves or skinny jeans. Well, obviously I am, and I’m going to go right ahead and rant (yes, kids this is how that feels!) Sure, growing up in the sunshine of India’s millennium boom must have been nice. Children of yuppies, living in a time of plenty, of great possibility, these kids have it all. Brands love them, economists love them (demographic dividend and all that) and of course they love themselves. But I’m not sold. Maybe because I work so closely with their kind, I’ve become wise to their entitled ways. Yeah, yeah… they’re not all bad, but I’ve identified a few choice specimens who tick me off on a daily basis.
1. The Indian ‘Hipster’: Less than 5% body fat, skinny jeans and nerd glasses and of course an iPod full of indie Indian music – the hipster trend has arrived in India. Except that ‘rejection of mainstream culture’ apparently translates to exact copying of the ideal of the American hipster. While we’re on the subject, somebody please kill Bollywood kitsch.
2. The ‘I’m awesome because I exist’ believer: There should be a law that limits how much one person can ‘believe in himself’. Agency heads, you know what I’m talking about. The ‘Give me a promotion because I’ve actually managed to not get fired for an entire year ‘– types. Or the 20-something intern complaining about ‘I’m being undervalued/ <insert indignant adjective here>’. Reminds me of a joke by the great comedian Louis CK– “Hey 20-year-old, we know your job sucks, that’s why we gave it to YOU!
3. Those annoying kids from the CCD ad: A grown boy sitting in a café eating coffee/ice-cream/whatever shots… Of course your dad would be pissed. He’s seeing you grow up into a lazy, entitled ass that eats ice-cream all day and preaches ‘sit downism’. India, be afraid. Did someone say demographic dividend?
4. The ‘Likes everything but loves nothing’ type: There’s a reason why Facebook picked ‘Like’ & not ‘Love’ and after working with several 20-year-olds on a regular basis, I finally understand why. The idea of loving something enough to do it exceptionally well is lost on this type that’s too busy snacking on everything to really commit to one thing. How will I be able to ‘have a life’ if I’m too busy doing what I’m paid to do, they whine. And here I naively assumed that people get into advertising because they’re passionate about it!
So, there you have it. A not-so-definitive guide to the annoying urban 20-something. Not exactly unbiased or maybe even entirely true, but hey I work in advertising. We love our stereotypes. And the truth is, at the end of the day, if a genie could grant me three wishes, I’d ask for money, fame and oh-to-be-20-again!
Feedback: meghana.bhat@webchutney.net
