Many other companies, though, are finding it's not so easy to hit the right note with this crowd--hip, but not too hip; respectful, but not stodgy; and, above all, aware that there's a difference between a 47-year-old and an 80-year-old. "To young product managers, everybody over 45 is lumped into a category called 'old,' " says Lori Bitter, partner at J. Walter Thompson's Mature Market Group. "They want to put swing music in the background of an ad targeted at 50-year-olds. We have to say, 'No, let's try Sting.' "
And even if they can manage to get the age thing right, Barletta says companies still tend to screw up in fairly predictable ways when they add women to the equation. Too often, their first impulse is to paint the brand pink, lavishing their ads with flowers and bows, or, conversely, pandering with images of women warriors and other cheesy cliches. In other cases, they use language intended to be empathetic that comes across instead as borderline offensive. "One bank took out an ad saying, 'We recognize women's special needs,' " says Barletta. "No offense, but doesn't that sound like the Special Olympics?"
But a breakthrough may be on the horizon. Last December, 58-year-old Diane Keaton, a leading-edge boomer, bravely got naked and ultimately broke Keanu Reeves's heart in the holiday hit Something's Gotta Give. Trust Annie Hall to prove that women at midlife still have mojo.
Hollingworth, 42, thinks the film may signal a watershed moment in the repositioning of middle age. "Isn't it becoming a little bit sexier to be older?" he says. Older people have more time, more money, and now--gadzooks!--apparently even sex. "At the moment, sexy is young because that's the only currency. So let's create a currency of being older that makes young people go, 'You lucky bastards!' And then we'll have done it." nFC
Shift the focus in ads from the product to the prospect. Women are biologically programmed to be more interested in people than men are, and boomer women are especially interested in family ties and community involvement.
Ads that talk about outranking others and defeating opponents are great for guys, rotten for women. Emphasize collegiality, closeness, helpfulness, and consensus--values that resonate particularly well with midlife women.
The older woman is more assertive, confident, and global in her outlook than marketers have given her credit for. A bonus: These attributes also work for midlife men.
Fast Company senior writer Linda Tischler (ltischler@fastcompany.com) is a boomer woman who does her best to support the travel, restaurant, and shoe industries.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
