June 07, 2006

Hey you kids! Get off my lawn!

The idea of blaring uncool music to deter teenage loiterers has been around for a long time now. Classical music is the, er, classic choice, whereas Aussie shopkeepers are now resorting to Barry Manilow hits.

(What, those kids Down Under don't go for Copacabana, over and over and over again? Tsk tsk.)

At some point, musical tastes will come full circle and this will backfire. Like how Cadillac's TV commercials use Led Zeppelin songs now. Even Johnny Rotten is 50 this year.

The latest hi-tech method, the UK's Mosquito, uses a frequency that kids can hear but us old farts can't. Talk about your market segmentation. According to press reports, Mosquito's sound is unbearable to the younger set but old folks are perfectly oblivious.

This biological targeting works both ways, though. Some enterprising youths use the Mosquito sound as their ringtone, so they can receive calls while in class and the old fogie teacher won't be any wiser. Great way to order a pizza, a la Jeff Spicoli.

Posted by jameshom at June 7, 2006 05:09 PM | TrackBack
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