Old guys are dismissed as uncool, out-of-touch, closed-minded, and yes, grumpy. Some are. Many aren’t. How to Be a Cool Old Guy is your guide to telling the difference. Three self-identified old guys—who also happen to be experts in cultural marketing—will use this panel session to launch their landmark study of the cultural role old guys play in the new world of cool. And how every old guy can get a little bit cooler. Their work includes semiotic research, broad-reach surveys, and extensive interviews with influencers and authorities.

1. HOW TO BE
A COOL OLD GUY
(in a cool new world)
Panel Proposal SXSW 2023

2. James Dean, 1952

3. Rebel

4. Evel Knievel, 1974

5. Risk Taker

6. Rock Hudson, 1953

7. Romeo

8. Charles Atlas, 1950s-1960s

9. wRong
(dad joke, there)

10. We old guys used to set the rules of cool

11. Today, we don‘t.
And that‘s not a bad thing.

12. Cool. Who cares?
Cool may seem shallow. Even trivial.
A big part of coolness is going your own way,
and not caring what others think of you.
Right?

13. The cost of being thought uncool is paid in ageism
and other stereotypes. That means lost economic
and social opportunities.
Not to mention the cost in simple human
connection, decency, and respect.

14. “It’s difficult for you, yourself, to be cool. Cool is how other people see you.
Harvey Coleman tells us that success in the world comes from three
elements; your performance, your image, and your exposure. Raw
performance and competence only counts for about ten percent. How
others see you, and how often, make up the remaining 90%.
Don’t allow your belief in your own experience, wisdom and knowledge to
overtake the importance of how others perceive you.”
Derrick Mains
Author and Producer. CEO, The Process Fixer. Founder, Podcastology.
Tempe, Arizona

15. Three self-identified old guys have set out to understand what
makes a cool old guy in a cool new world.
Jaymes Cloninger
Founder, Motivf
Geocultural Marketing Expert
Washington, DC.
Julian Harcourt
Founder, GreyAfro
Data Marketing Specialist for Older Audiences
London
Marty Karaffa
Independent Brand Consultant and Associate Partner, Hofstede Insights
Intercultural Marketing Expert
Munich

16. Right now, we’re listening to the world in three ways.
We’ll reveal the results of our landmark study, How to Be a Cool Old Guy.
We’ll ask people, including kids, to imagine a world of cool old guys, and draw it.
Would they feel comfortable in this world?
We‘ll survey a broad range of people around the world on what values they think old guys hold.
And then compare them to the values we actually hold.
We‘ll talk to thinkers, influencers, and cool people of every kind.
What does the zeitgeist think is a cool old guy?

17. Already, we’ve uncovered three things the
world wants from a Cool Old Guy

18. Be Open
Be Fun
Be Positive

19. Be open
A cool old guy hasn’t checked out. He stays current,
engaged and aware of what’s happening around
him. He’s open to new ideas, even if he disagrees
with them. Change isn’t a threat.

20. “The keywords that define a cool old guy? Curious. Exploratory.
You never stop finding the world interesting. And relaxed. We
should let go of any tension we feel about change, and let it
happen. The culture is changing dramatically and it‘s being
shaped by not just guys but women, and the LGBT community,
and all sorts of groups. It‘s up to people of my generation to
shut up and listen.”
Philippe Deniger
Creative Director
Munich

21. “I still have friends, even today, who are rolling their eyes
and asking why people are talking so much about
transgender, and things like that. They’re not staying up with
the times. Naturally when you grow older, you miss the
world where you felt you fit in, but it’s uncool not to accept
that.”
Neil Kramer
Writer and Art Photographer. Former Creative Executive, HBO, and screenwriter for Home Improvement
New York

22. “Pharrell talks about it. You’ve got some people in hip hop that
are still rapping the same styles. Wearing the same clothes. Stuck
in the time they were once in, when they became stars.
But you have some people who were in the game thirty years, and
they’ve adapted every time something new came along. They
learned it, they got it, they were with it, and then they helped the
next generation.”
Christion Banks
Head of Strategy and GenZ Expert
Ronin House, Los Angeles

23. Be fun
Perhaps it’s cliché. The energy we put into work over the course of our lives can now be
devoted to fun. Play is now our work, jokes are our secret code, and our lack of inhibition is
kind of a superpower. Caution: people think we’re loud.

24. “I had a cab driver the other day who was 86. Wickedly
funny—and didn’t need Google maps! A world full of
cool old guys would have good wine, a load of laughter,
and some banging tunes. The guys look comfortable in
their skin, flirtatious in their eyes, and always with the
start of a smile on their lips. Hot. As.”
Michele O’Neill
Director, Powered Enterprise, Nine Entertainment. Adjunct Professor Communications, Boston University
Sydney

25. “What do I see when I aimagine a place where older guys are
cool and calling the shots, as opposed to just old and calling the
shots like most of the world? I‘m envisaging somewhere near the
water. Maybe in Italy, where everyone’s riding around on Vespas.
Or a sophisticated city like Munich, where there’s plenty of
raucous fun at Oktoberfest. Where people don’t laze around,
where they’re still adventurous and have fun.”
Michael Moebes
Trial Attorney and Founder, Moebes Law. Former Lieutenant Colonel, USAF
Atlanta

26. “When I imagined the perfect
world for Cool Old Guys, I saw
them all sitting around gambling,
playing poker. They were
partying, laughing, they were
really loud, cracking jokes.”
Elle Park
Head of Experience Design and GenZ Expert
Ronin House, Los Angeles
Christion Banks
Head of Strategy and GenZ Expert
Ronin House, Los Angeles
“The world I imagined was really loud
and rowdy, too. I didn’t even hear any
music because they were shouting and
cheering, and arguing about the Kansas
City Chiefs’ game on the TV. My guys
were gambling, too…playing dominoes.
But I joined them, and won!”

27. Be Positive
It can happen to anyone. A lifetime of work, challenge, and struggle can harden our hearts. We’re only human.
But a Cool Old Guy maintains his gentleness, optimism, and encouragement of others.

28. “Three things that make an old guy uncool?
Whining. Whining. Whining.”
Professor Carl Rohde
Futurologist. Founder, Science of the Time.
Tilburg, The Netherlands

29. “There are personalities which see the glass as half full, and
those who see it as half-empty. As you get older, I’ve noticed that
the glass-half-empty attitude becomes a bit nastier. It can make
you seem older than one who stays more upbeat and positive.
You don’t want to be a grumpy old man.
It’s the opposite of a cool old guy!”
Alex Pasini
Business and Brand Advisor
Paris

30. “It’s true that as you get to a certain stage in your life, and
have had certain life experiences, you’re not going to stay so
positive or optimistic about the world.
There’s an ounce of projection in how they’ve dealt with
pain or trauma or struggles. They can feel a need to exert it
on their surroundings and fill the world with hatred. That’s
when their light starts to dim.”
Elle Park
Head of Experience Design and GenZ Expert
Ronin House, Los Angeles

31. This is the most important stereotype
which we old guys must address.

32. How To Be
a Cool Old Guy
We’ll show more about how the coolest old guys stay open, fun and positive.
We’ll tell you how we old guys can bring more of these values into the lives of our families, communities, and each other.
And overcome some of the stereotypes.

33. It’s a launch event
Our Panel Session will launch the report on
our landmark study. And will launch the
website howtobeacoolold.guy

34. HOW TO BE
A COOL OLD GUY
(in a cool new world)
We look forward to seeing you there.