How on earth did Millennials go from being the glowing, favorite child of an entire nation–our primary source of hope for the future–into the enemy? The bad guys. Murderers. Sort of. Killers of the housing market, fast food and the napkin industry. For 20 years, we've observed and participated in the crafting and re-crafting of this narrative to help sell things from policy, economic strategy and yes, um, napkins.

In The Demo, a podcast about how stories of groups are created, subverted and destroyed. On the first season, we pursue the origins of the Millennial Myth. Farrah Bostic is the founder and Head of Research & Strategy of, The Difference Engine, a strategic insights consultancy focused on helping business leaders make decisions. Adam Pierno, author and brand consultant and managing director of brand strategy at Arizona State University. Our host is voiced by Eliza, a robot created by Murf.ai.

Music by 0megaMan under the Creative Commons license. Learn more and find research and supporting materials at inthedemopodcast.com

Show outline (which is generated by another robot; Otter.ai).

0:00 Introduction

1:22 What’s inside the homogeneity that defines it

2:53 How the popular narrative about millennials has evolved over time

5:52 Millennials are a very amorphous and flexible and malleable punch line

8:38 Millennials are still the media shorthand for youth, even though many of them are in their 40s now

10:42 The importance of having the benefit of time to look back on the myth

12:02 What’s changed in the world of brand marketing

14:28 What happens if you deviate from the expectation?

Full transcript on inthedemopodcast.com

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