I must say that as I’ve furthered my career as a senior art director I’ve never really noticed how much I study random peoples interactions with their surroundings and other people. I really took notice of this when i was sitting at at the mall the other day. Watching the passer byes in an area of the mall where there is a large open area with shops along the sides. I sat on a bench and began watching how a mother tries to keep their child behaving good while she orders her cafe latte. Two teen male friends wearing the same brand shirt and probably pants walk through very nonchalant and very much absorbed with their i-phones. An older couple sits at a bench taking a 10 min. break because they’re winded from the first 10 stores they passed on the way in. A flock of girls consumed by advertising of Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch giggle and almost resemble the people and attitude of the cardboard models that fill those stores. I think learning and studying how different demographics really act in their “normal” social lives is where we as advertisers can truly connect with consumers by not trying to sell them something, but rather have them experience a feeling. Watching the reality of people’s lives from young to old is entertaining and sometimes very eye opening, you really think you know how a certain group of people are, but when you place them under the magnifying glass….perceptions can change rather quickly.