Today’s blog does not need to be long because it will, rather, go deep…about as deep as the lines on a 30-year-old’s face.
Which is why I stand in awe of a recent article in the May ’08 issue of “Marie Claire” Magazine—which, like most of the mainstream magazines geared to the female consumer, is a favorite of the 20 and 30-something crowd but not (with a few exceptions) particularly focused to the needs and concerns of “the older woman.”.
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So why was there an article by the writer, Ying Chu, reporting on her experiences plucking out white eyelashes, considering Botox, consulting high-priced dermatologists and seriously embarking on “strategic age management?”
The answer: Because Ying had just left her twenties behind, reporting on the age-phobic panic that was having it’s way with her in the article: “Facing the Big 3-0.”
This 30-something angst is transpiring all the while that boomer experts are praising the likes of L’Oreal for featuring a 60-something Diane Keaton on its face care and cosmetic advertisements, as if boomer women—in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s—should intuitively be the primary purchaser of anti-aging products and services. Finally, with L’Oreal, a major marketer got it: boomer women have the most discretionary income and natural need for this type of product. With this knowledge, suddenly boomer women could begin to enjoy seeing vital, appealing, upbeat pictures of their peers in major media advertisements. With, I should remind you, nary an age spot in sight.
What’s more, for boomer-directed marketers and communicators, alike, there is the sweet anticipation that with the recognition that “60 is not the new 40…60 is, in fact the new 60” (Gail Sheehy), where advertising dares to tread, pertinent editorial content, media and perhaps entire publications are sure to flourish. Think the glamour and relevance of “More Magazine” for 40-somethings, and plans we suspect are in the works for similar magazines targeted to 50 and, gasp, 60-something and beyond—all of whom will compete with younger demographics for advertising support.
But with the likes of Ying Chu breathing down boomers’ necks, even the tender foothold boomer women have on mainstream marketing, could be on the verge of losing precious ground. Asks Ying Chu concerning expensive medical treatments and products: “Can we (the 30-year-old) afford to hold out for much longer?”
The answer, from a collection of alarmist skincare experts quoted in the article, is no. Says Dr. Dennis Gross: “At 30, things are usually not as good as they appear.” He goes on to share a list of decaying and damaged skin issues, that will soon be emerging “as brown spots, wrinkles, and sallow and sagging skin.”
So here’s what I have to say: Leave those poor girls alone! Stop terrifying them that if they smile, frown or have too many facial expressions at all, they’ll end up looking like, horrors, women in their 40’s and up. Before this article came out, we boomer women were feeling pretty darn good about ourselves.
Carol Orsborn