{"id":1469,"date":"2016-02-15T07:50:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/2017\/09\/the-grandpa-in-a-nightclub-problem\/"},"modified":"2018-05-02T08:46:56","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T12:46:56","slug":"the-grandpa-in-a-nightclub-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2016\/02\/the-grandpa-in-a-nightclub-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Grandpa in a Nightclub’ Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

A while ago, Harvard\u2019s Nieman Journalism Lab ran a piece about the New York Times<\/em>\u2019 digital branding efforts. It quoted a series of tweets by Max Pfennighaus, who is the executive creative director of brand and marketing at the Times<\/em> and previously held a similar position at NPR, and whose job is to build the newspaper\u2019s digital brand. He described the core challenge as the \u201cgrandpa in a nightclub\u201d problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a beloved brand is a double-edged sword\u2026.\u201d Pfennighaus (@MxPf<\/a>) tweeted. \u201cIf they love you as the Grey Lady, then they have a hard time seeing you nerding out with clever apps. It\u2019s like seeing your grandpa at a nightclub\u2026. Every single thing we do as an organization should avoid the \u201cnightclub grandpa\u201d effect if we hope to survive the next decade. If you\u2019re happy being and acting like a grandpa, don\u2019t go to a nightclub. Otherwise\u2026well, consciously work towards not being a grandpa.\u201d <\/p>\n

I bit:<\/p>\n

@thischairrocks <\/a>– Why shouldn’t older people go to nightclubs?\u201d <\/p>\n

@MxPf<\/a> – “they shouldn’t. it’s a metaphor.<\/p>\n

@thischairrocks <\/a>– “They shouldn’t” is no metaphor, it’s a directive. And why shouldn’t they?<\/p>\n

@MxPf<\/a> – go back a few tweets, it’ll make more sense. i suspect you stumbled across this thread because of the search term grandpa.<\/p>\n

@thischairrocks <\/a> – Actually several people brought it to my attention because of the ageist language. Let’s discuss via email:ashton@thischairrocks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

@MxPf<\/a> – but it’s a conversation about marketing, not actual grandparents. of which i have several.<\/p>\n

\u200f@thischairrocks <\/a>– The fact that it’s about marketing doesn’t make the analogy less problematic.<\/p>\n

@MxPf<\/a> – @thischairrocks<\/a> don’t take anything I said literally. Everyone should go to clubs as much as they like.<\/p>\n

Maybe Pfennighaus means it. Maybe he\u2019ll even retire his repellent metaphor. The grandpa-in-a-nightclub “problem” is the woman-in-a-boardroom “problem.” The black-person-in-a-country-club “problem.” The developmentally-delayed-kid-in-a-classroom “problem.” The gay-person-in-a-locker-room “problem.” It’s not that the outlier should stay home; it’s that the discriminatory model, once again, has to change.<\/p>\n

It’s deeply troubling that Pfennighaus’s language went unchallenged by one of the country\u2019s most progressive media outlets, the New York Times<\/em>, not to mention Harvard University. I guess they\u2019re too busy \u201cconsciously work[ing] towards not being a grandpa,\u201d whatever retrograde contortions that<\/em> might involve. I\u2019ll take being a grandmother any day\u2014one who loves being a grandmother and also loves clubbing.  Some people will be snarky about that, like the bouncer outside a club on a frigid February night, where we were shivering in line with a bunch of friends celebrating a 40th birthday. \u201cStep up, Grandpa,\u201d he said to my partner.<\/p>\n

Bob went over to him and said, \u201cI understand that they’re not the same thing, but calling me ‘Grandpa’ in this context feels like what I imagine it would be like for someone to call you the N-word.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bouncer thought it over, nodded, said, \u201cI got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I am<\/em> a grandfather, by the way,” Bob added, “and proud of it.” <\/p>\n

Everyone learned something. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A while ago, Harvard\u2019s Nieman Journalism Lab ran a piece about the New York Times<\/em>\u2019 digital branding efforts. It quoted a series of tweets by Max Pfennighaus..<\/p>\n

Read more The ‘Grandpa in a Nightclub’ Problem<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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