-By Anthony Crupi

Young men may no longer be swayed by the old Jedi mind tricks, but new research powered by Comcast’s G4 could go a long way toward dispelling some of the more persistent myths that surround the dudes 18-34 demo.

On Oct. 2, Comcast Networks ad sales president Dave Cassaro presented media buyers and clients with a first comprehensive look at “Hunting With Lightsabers: A Field Guide to Young Males 18-34.” A year in the offing, the study provides a detailed psychographic profile of this singularly misunderstood demo, a standing army of 35 million Americans who alternately feel pandered to and ignored by many advertisers.

“It’s not so much that they’re resistant to advertising, they just feel disenfranchised by it,” said Cyndi McClellan, executive vp, research and program strategy, Comcast Entertainment Group. She added that only 11 percent of the Lightsabers sample believed that advertisers “get” them. “They’re willing to be influenced by advertising if the message is attuned to their interests, but by and large, they don’t think it speaks to them.”

Young male viewers are equipped with especially sensitive B.S. detectors and are quick to tune out anything that seems inauthentic or condescending. “Any time you try to start acting like the cool uncle, they can smell it a million miles away,” said Cliff Bleszinski, a design director for Epic Games.

In March, when Cassaro first began talking with clients about the objectives behind the Lightsabers study, he emphasized the role tech plays in how the demo consumes media and spends its money. Of the six psychographic segments identified in the research, only one group was found to be demonstrably tech-averse. The so-called Dial-Up Guys represent just 13 percent of the sample; the other five segments are about as plugged-in as R2-D2.

Media buyers who took in the show last week were duly impressed by Cassaro’s diligence. “Everyone intuitively knows a fair amount about the demo, but no one has ever quite put pen to paper like this and quantified how big this segment is,” said Donna Speciale, president of investment and activation at MediaVest. “The timing is really smart, too. If they had presented this in the summer, it would have been lost in all the upfront noise.”

Like the iconic Star Wars gizmo, the Lightsabers’ intel functions as a weapon and a source of illumination. “What we’re trying to communicate is: We get it,” Cassaro said. “We know these guys inside and out, and we’re going to create the programming and the marketing platforms that resonate with them.”