Posted on 02/11/2011 7:09:36 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Companies are quietly redesigning their products to accommodate the needs of (shh, don’t say it aloud) aging baby boomers. So reports the Wall Street Journal. “The generation that sent diaper sales soaring in the 1960s, bought power suits in the 1980s and indulged in luxury cars in the 2000s is getting ready to retire: The oldest boomers turn 65 this year. . . . But there’s a catch: Baby boomers, famously demanding and rebellious, don’t want anyone suggesting they’re old.”
Marketers, always alert to the sensitivities of this most self-absorbed of cohorts, are developing products and shopping environments that will appeal to the needs of, let us say, ripening baby boomers without ever using the “o” word. “Surreptitiously, companies are making typefaces larger, lowering store shelves to make them more accessible and avoiding yellows and blues in packaging — two colors that don’t appear as sharply distinct to older eyes.”
It may be autumn for the boomers, but it’s springtime for the marketing euphemists. Bathroom-fixture maker Kohler, the WSJ reports, set its wizards the task of renaming the “grab bar” — a shower fixture for, shall we say, experienced bathers. They came up with “belay” (after the mountaineering term), and designed it to blend unobtrusively into the tile wall. Whether Kohler considered that mature eyes might not be able to find the subtle “belay” in an emergency we don’t know.
Maybe we should be grateful for euphemisms in a culture that is otherwise awash in vulgarity. But really — “Low T”? You’ve seen the commercials, I’m sure. “Millions of men 45 and older just don’t feel like they used to,” it begins. “Remember when you had more energy for 18 holes with your buddies? More passion for the one you love?” Well, “don’t blame it on aging,” Abbott Laboratories advises. “Call your doctor,” because what in other times and places was considered normal is now “a treatable condition called low testosterone or low T.” If at 55 you don’t feel 19, call your doctor and get a drug to fix it.
More-tempered women present even greater challenges for marketers. Boomer women, a business website reminds readers, constitute 37 percent of those online, and women in general make 80 percent of household purchasing decisions. In order not to offend these potential customers, the site advises avoiding the words “senior,” “older women,” “silver surfers or silver anything,” and particularly “grandma, grandmother, grandparents, grannies.” Boomer gals, we learn, “are happy to lipo, pull, tighten, and do just about anything on earth to avoid being asked that dreaded question, ‘Would you like the senior discount?’”
Maybe it’s the plastic surgery, or maybe it’s just denial, but boomers seem a tad unrealistic about where they fit into the life cycle. “When casting for recent Depend ads,” the Journal reports, “the brand looked for actors who appeared to be in their early 50s . . .Despite concerns inside the company that the actors were too young to be believable, focus groups of boomers didn’t mind a bit.” Which may explain why the actors in denture commercials are all in their 50s too.
For an entire cohort to go through life tagged as “babies” may have had some infantilizing effects over the years. An AARP commercial aimed at baby boomers uses the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” trope for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. One says he wants to work with children, another that he wants to fix up old houses. She wants to run a marathon. He’s going to start a band. AARP believes “you’re never done growing.”
Actually, yes you are. You’re a grownup at 21. People continue to change and improve (some go in the other direction), but they are no longer “growing.” Boomers need to get a grip — or a belay — on the facts of life. Run your marathon if you want to, but you’ve been grown up for decades!
Yet why single out boomers? No one these days is encouraged to act his age. The Vermont Teddy Bear Company recommends sending stuffed animals to grown women for Valentine’s Day. There are also ads for “hoodie/footie” pajamas for people who haven’t waited up for Santa in well over a decade. The sexual innuendo in the ads doesn’t counteract the fact that they are peddling gifts more appropriate for six-year-olds.
The styles that are marketed to “tween” girls — those between 10 and 12 — on the other hand, are all about premature sexuality. Why is it so hard to get this right?
Age matters. What’s right at 20 is not right at 60 — or 10. The only dignified way to navigate through life’s stages is not to deny that.
— Mona Charen is a nationally syndicated columnist.
People are individuals. There are "young" 65 year olds and there are "old" 22 year olds. Why do we all need to behave a certain way because of our age?
Sure, one should mature as one ages and gains experience. But is acting "old" a necessity?
Oh, I have no problem admitting it. I'm better than I've ever been, wrinkles, aches and all. But lots of wisdom, much more laid back. And I've never been happier. - the best position financially of my life, and loving the whole empty nest thing.
Yep, this boomer likes getting old.
Is there something wrong with working with children, fixing up houses, running marathons, starting bands? Is it better to sit and stare out the window (which is also fine if that is what one chooses).
fantastic...
I am 58.. The worst part about heading into my 60s, is that I can’t do the pedal-to-the-metal type of exercise that I could do even as little as 4 years ago. I’ve had to slow down just a bit. Add into that the stomach issues, etc...
I agree with everyone above.. keep reading, keep involved in art and music, get some hobbies, learn new things, walk and exercise, if at all possible. And work on your love life. get a wife or husband, which I did last year, or work on keeping your wife or husband. that is priority number 1.
Is there something wrong with working with children, fixing up houses, running marathons, starting bands? Is it better to sit and stare out the window (which is also fine if that is what one chooses).
Good on you! I am retired but my wonderful wife still works. Every morning I write her a love note that she reads when she gets into work. You just can't love a wife too much.
I don't buy magazines, have TV or go to the movies. Things don't change because they aren't listening.
The reason the boomer generation is kicking and screaming into the golden age is because the mass mistreatment of the elderly and the disrespect began with the boomer generation. Now...they’re at the age of the folks they themselves disrespected and mistreated and the writing is on the wall. I’m at the tail end of the baby boom generation and despise those that came of age during the 60’s as they are responsible for the cultural decline. Almost every major ill/problem can be traced back to these self indulgent bastards.
The past 2 years have been a nightmare and it’s because the baby boomer malcontents have taken hold and are even more rooted than realized.
I was in the liquor store the other day and a guy, probably in his early to mid 60’s was in there in tennis shoes, jeans and the obligatory earring in his ear. Nauseating.
Yes...there are plenty of boomers that have ‘grown up’ but overall, the entire generation is obsessed with ‘not growing up’.
/rant off
On the other hand, I can’t read Latin and Greek as easily as I could then.
Me, too.
The alternative isn’t so hot.
“the “grab bar” — a shower fixture... designed it to blend unobtrusively into the tile wall.”
As far as I am concerned, this is long overdue. One does not need to be elderly to need something to grab on to while bending over in the shower to scrub your feet. Why does a safety device have to look ugly. I am glad they are blending in grab bars and will begin immediately to find such equipment which blends in with the decor.
****10) Men who haven’ t hit the gym in a decade attempting to bench their weigh and blow out a pec muscle instead****
Twenty two years ago I did this, and blew out a mitral valve! Haven’t lifted weights since.
“Is there something wrong with working with children, fixing up houses, running marathons, starting bands? Is it better to sit and stare out the window (which is also fine if that is what one chooses).”
Nothing is wrong with any of the activities mentioned. However, I would hate to think that the message is gov’t propaganda filtering through the AARP. Will I have to justify my Medicare health care spending with how “productive” I am in my youthful older age?
It’s very useful but that has to be the “boomers” fault!
yep... I work out at the gym, but I do very low weight and high reps... mostly there for the cardio workouts.
I do note that there are quite a few 50 to 60 year olds, with the dyed hair and the muscle T-shirts, trying with every fiber of their being, to hold that gut in. Meanwhile the 20 to 30 year olds strut around like roosters. These guys that are my age, need to take a good long look in the mirror, and mirrors are everywhere in that place. It’s dumb..
Know your age, and by all means still exercise... but know that you aren’t 20.. Indeed, you are invisible to the young women at the gym.
“Good on you! I am retired but my wonderful wife still works. Every morning I write her a love note that she reads when she gets into work. You just can’t love a wife too much.”
Oh, you wonderful softy. Can I borrow you for Valentine’s Day? Everyone needs at least one like you in their life.
I´m coaching high school baseball and having the time of my life. Talk of being a kid again....
Answer Post Yes/No? Yes
Agree With Poster Yes/No? Yes
***...trying with every fiber of their being, to hold that gut in.***
I started holding my gut in 45 years ago in the military. I still hold it in with no problems even though there is now a spare tire around it.
I remember 9th grade and Fran Gabrie* telling me to “grow up” Last year I turned 60, won two world softball tournaments, and got my black belt in tae kwan do. Eat your heart out Fran, I’m Peter Pan!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.