• Adweek, Monday, January 12, 2009 11 AM

The boomer generation grew up with Alfred E. Newman's "What, Me Worry?" echoing in the back of its collective noggin. The mantra translated into, among other consumer behavior, "What, We Save?"

But that's all changing after the "psychologically wrenching" plunge of the Dow, writes Noreen O'Leary. Boomers are not only pinching pennies at the checkout lines, they are radically reversing their wastrel ways. Americans, who in recent years have had negative savings rates, could save as much as 6% to 10% of their income this year, according to Goldman Sachs.

Ben Kline, chief strategy officer at Allstate agency Leo Burnett, says it's not just a matter of cutting back, it's about boomers reassessing what's important. "We're seeing a shift from a trade-up culture to a trade-off culture," Kline says. "'What brands are going to be part of my life, which ones are indispensable or dispensable?'"

And, O'Leary points out, "the irony [is] that as consumers do the right thing for themselves by saving more, they hurt the economy's chances of revival by spending less -- the 'paradox of thrift' as put forth by John Maynard Keynes. But "God Bless the Child," as put forth by Billie Holiday. Younger consumers' "love of brands," "acquisitive tastes" and need for "instant gratification" show little signs of permanent abatement .

Read the whole story at Adweek »