ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the strategies that ABC utilized to appeal to teenagers in the mid-1960s, as the baby boom generation was coming of age. By 1965, baby boomers had become a significant target market for magazines, popular music, and Hollywood movies, as a result of their generation's size and access to disposable income. ABC courted teenage viewers with programs including The Patty Duke Show, Tammy, and Gidget; at the same time, the network sought to develop, market, and merchandise these series to a much larger audience that included parents and young children. The chapter utilizes archival records related to the short-lived series Gidget to examine the industry dynamics governing the relationship between television networks, production companies, and the teenage audience in the 1960s. The brief run of the Gidget television series necessitates closer examination, especially considering the enduring popularity of the character and the series itself, which has continued to air in syndication since 1966.
