Home But Not Alone, The Educated Sex, Etc.

When kids arrive home from school, is anyone there? A Kaiser Family Foundation poll of 8-18-year-olds finds the answer usually is "yes." Twelve percent said they're alone after school most days, but that's down from 16 percent in 1999. Fifty-four percent said their mother is home; 22 percent said their father is. Others on the premises on after-school afternoons include younger siblings (cited by 28 percent), older siblings (23 percent) and grandparents (12 percent). Just 2 percent come home to a babysitter or nanny.You've likely heard that health-club memberships rise each January as people try to realize their New Year's resolutions about getting in shape. By the time spring arrives, of course, many of these new members have stopped showing up. It turns out there's a parallel phenomenon in the food sector. Research by ACNielsen shows an upturn after New Year's in sales of fat-free, low-carb and other such foods. But this "January effect" soon abates. The study analyzed sales in various categories, tracking the ups and downs from one four-week period to the next. In the four-week period ending Jan. 22, sales of no-fat and reduced-fat foods were up 7.7 percent compared with the previous four weeks. But in the four-week period ending Feb. 19, sales were down 2.5 percent. "Carb conscious" foods posted a gain of 22.8 percent in the period ending Jan. 22, then fell 3.3 percent in the period ending Feb. 19. Sugar was the sole exception to the rule: No-sugar/low-sugar foods rose 6.5 percent in the period ending Jan. 22, then gained an additional 2.7 percent in the period ending Feb. 19. The Seattle Mariners have had their ups and downs, but the team's commercials have been consistently funny. This season's campaign (by Copacino+Fujikado of Seattle) mimics the style of a home-shopping network. In one spot, Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibañez are selling the Safeco Field batter's box. Another spot has a pair of pitchers selling the fastball, curveball and slider. The obligatory mention that "operators are standing by" is accompanied by a shot of relief pitchers lazing in the bullpen. In yet another spot, two pitchers try to sell the balk. But an "items remaining" inset on the screen shows that nobody is buying it until a collectible statue is thrown in as a bonus. Ah, the balk rule gets no respect. Having been left for dead a few decades ago, the convertible continues to make a modest comeback. A report by R.L. Polk & Co., which monitors all things automotive, says registrations of convertibles rose 6.3 percent in 2004 vs. the previous year, reaching a total of 315,306. That puts convertibles at 1.9 percent of the light-vehicle market. It's no surprise that Los Angeles is the largest market for convertibles. But would you have guessed that New York is No. 2? It is, with twice as many registrations last year as the third-place metro, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale. Apparently New Yorkers love to feel the soot blowing through their hair as they drive along. When a bully tells you to buy a brand, aren't you inclined to do it? Of course you are. And that's why a new study could give kid-oriented companies added incentive to advertise their goods on TV. According to a Reuters article, researchers at the University of Washington found that kids who watch lots of TV at age 4 are more likely to be bullies at ages 6-11. The study is meant to show that parents ought to limit their offsprings' TV time. Since kids will continue watching too much, though, some advertisers will conclude it's a good idea to get the bullies on their side. A "brand advocate" who's ready to punch his peers in the mouth can be awfully persuasive.Aside from wailing and lamentation, what actions have gas-price increases prompted among Americans? The chart (above right), based on Gallup polling earlier this month, gives an indication. People are always willing to burn gas driving around town in search of a filling station where a gallon is a few cents cheaper. No doubt the ones who do so overlap with those who claim to have reduced their driving. What's most striking is that scarcely more than half the respondents even pay lip service to the notion of buying a fuel-efficient vehicle. In this era of brand disloyalty, consumers display remarkable fidelity to the gas-guzzling portion of the automotive market.Some lads will take comfort in a new Census report that shows men more likely than women to have at least a bachelor's degree (29.4 percent vs. 26.1 percent among Americans age 25 and older). But this merely means they aren't astute at reading statistics—even if they did go to college. Women lag behind men only because of the big male-skewing disparity in college degrees among older folks. In every five-year age bracket below 40, women are more likely than men to have at least a bachelor's degree. Among 35-39-year-olds, for example, 31.2 percent of women and 29.9 percent of men have at least a bachelor's degree. Among 30-34-year-olds, 33.3 percent of women and 29.9 percent of men have such credentials. The gap is bigger still among those in the 25-29 age bracket: 31.4 percent of women vs. 26.1 percent of men. One begins to suspect that if women weren't the ones interrupting their careers to have babies, men wouldn't have a prayer of keeping up in the workplace. The Census report makes clear the extent to which eduction is now linked to income. Workers age 18-plus with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, and those with an advanced degree pull in an average of $74,602. Those with just a high school diploma earn $27,915. Our choice for Euphemism of the Week comes from a report by The NPD Group about the bridal market. It identifies "encore brides"—i.e., those who've married before—as a relatively untapped market for the bridal-registry business. While it's become the norm for first-time brides to register for wedding gifts (and even for wedding-shower gifts), just 47 percent of encore brides said that they've registered or plan to do so. "They also report having smaller weddings and fewer guests." Marketers can't allow that, now, can they?

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Home But Not Alone, The Educated Sex, Etc.

Mark Dolliver

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