Mitsubishi is trying hard to stay relevant (definition: sell some cars when everyone has forgotten about them) and has jumped into the trend of attempting to catch the eye of the desirable Gen Y. The best way that they figured how to do this is to kind of jump into a microsite community aimed at 20 to 30 year olds and tell them their generation’s newest name. I am not so sure that this generation really appreciates one more label on that list: The Peter Pan Generation, Millenials, Generation Next, Net Generation, Echo Boomers and now, the one that they were really not missing but Mitsubishi assigned on their behalf.

M-Gen
Isn’t that clever? It sounds like “engine” but the M represents Mitsubishi! BAM!

Some drivers are different for a reason.
Some people refuse to tip toe around the edge of their lives.
Some people dive head first into the human pool.

Those are the fearless ones who say what they want, do what they want, and drive what they want. Those are the ones who do cannon balls off the high dive.

That’s the M-Generation.

*And now, please give us all of your contact info. Thanks.

(Not sure how diving board predilections figure into this. Did they ask Gen-M about Slip-N-Slide prefs?)

Here is where it gets funny. A bit.
My sidekick on the Open Line Show, Miradart (aka, Canadian Dave Foley and no, not that Dave Foley- mine is funnier) very quickly pointed out something to me about the M-Gen logo:

M-Gen

MacBlo

Turns out that our compadres to the North are very familiar with a Canadian forestry company and its logo – a company called MacMillan-Bloedel – who they have dubbed “MacBlo”. Although purchased by US company in 1999, the logo and the nickname is still in the Canadian consciousness. And, just imagine how un-environmentally, controversial and un-Gen Y M-Gen, this temperate forest clear cutting corporation can be. It’s worse than even most of this demographic can imagine, probably.

A fly on the wall might have been in the Mitsubishi marketing meeting and heard:

“Don’t worry! They are Canadian so they either have short memories or will apologize for remembering…we’ll look original!”

(By the way, the Canadian version to the Mitsubishi site is not what we see here in the US. Unlike the US site, there is no M-Gen logo at the bottom of the whatareyouinto.net page when accessed from a Canadian IP address.)

Is Mitsubishi MacBlo-ing it with the new Pepsi Generation with its lack of … anything original?

[Thanks to Jeff, Luke and Dave for the help!]