Insight into the out of sight.

We were offered a creative brief the other day, it was aimed at women over-50 and the strategy was ‘youthfulness’ 

We turned it down because we don’t actually know any older woman who want to look or feel young and foolish again, but apparently, they had all the research and data. 

It’s just a shame they didn’t have a bigger vocabulary.

The older women we know would rather be seen as vibrant, free, dynamic, resilient, energetic, powerful, inspired, inspirational, empathetic, confident, experienced, spirited and wise.

Ironically, that last one only comes with a fair few miles on the clock and when the average age in agencies is just 33.7 we think it’s safe to bet the brief, strategy, research parameters, and analysis were concocted by people with a lot more roads to travel.

Of course, the fetishisation of youth has been around forever, but so have we. We have spent many years pondering the age-old question of ‘does advertising reflect or create culture?’ The answer for women over 50 is definitely no and no. 

It’s not just advertising, it seems once a woman is no longer viable for human-being production she is no longer visible.     

But we are here, we are real and there are a hell of a lot of us. The world might not notice us but we see each other and more importantly, we hear each other. We share our triumphs, our failings our hopes and our fears. You know, the stuff we’d never share with some whipper-snapper researcher.

There’s a whole sub-culture worth billions that’s ready to be unlocked.

But the key isn’t traditional research. 

Instead of asking groups of ordinary women what they think about what already exists (or not), why not ask the thought leaders of this generation what they’re hungering to create? 

It’s a blank canvas, after all.

For the price of the average study (where you’ll basically learn everything your competitors know too), you could have a fount of original business and communication ideas that demonstrate how your brand or service can resonate and profit from the most valuable consumer group on the planet. 

Janee is a crack team of award-winning creatives, strategists and storytellers who are passionate about portraying a new vision for the second half of life. It takes a lot of love, heartbreak, success, failure, hardship and good fortune to earn wisdom. We’ve put in the hours and we want to share what we’ve discovered. After all, the last thing we want is for you to disappear too.