Bottled Blondes and Man-Made Brunettes

I just blogged about this subject last week. I guess it's a hot one. A tepid one for me, since I likewise blogged it two years ago.

And a few months ago.

And a few months before that.

The media is all over it all of a sudden. Now the New York Times has caught up:

Bottled Blondes, You Too Can Break Free
By Natasha Singer

In an image-obsessed culture predominated by bottled blondes and man-made brunettes, a naturally gray-haired woman can be made to feel that she stands out like dandruff on a dark sweater. So it took some courage for Anne Kreamer, a contributor to More magazine and yahoo.com, to stop coloring her hair three years ago. "Gray hair has been stigmatized to mean sexually old or over, and we all want to maintain attractiveness," said Ms. Kreamer, 51, now the proud owner of a lustrous silver mane.

I guess what I find interesting is that the NYT web site does a great job cross-referencing articles - meaning, if an article is of interest in more than one section, it's listed in all the appropriate sections. For example, a book about politics would be in the Politics and Book sections.

This article, not surprisingly, is in the Fashion & Style section. But why isn't it cross-referenced in the Business/Advertising Section? The title is Bottled Blondes, You Too Can Break Free. So what's a bottled blonde? Maybe you should ask Shirley Polykoff (if she were alive).

This is a major change in the way mature (Marti Barletta calls them "PrimeTime") women are feeling about themselves. Mary Brown and Carol Orsborn also talk about this subject in their book, BOOM. Quoting Peggy Northrup, Editor of More Magazine:

"When we put attractive, successful women on our covers who look like they are between their late 40s and mid 50s, we sell lots more copies than when we go for the “40, could pass for 32” look. In fact, one of our highest selling issues of the past year had a great looking 53-year-old, gray-haired woman on the cover. You can see the crinkles around her eyes. We have to restrain our photographers from airbrushing these out."

I think everybody in the advertising industry should read the article.

European Speaking/Consulting Tour in September

The European speaking/consulting tour with Brent Green, Carol Orsborn, and You-Know-Who is shaping up. Here's the itinerary - and a few embedded links with info about the engagements:

Stockholm: Monday, September 17
Oslo: Tuesday, September 18
Brussels: Wednesday, September 19
Utrecht (The Netherlands): September 20
Augsburg (Germany): September 21
Paris: September 24
Madrid: September 25

Then I'll be in London for a couple of days.

Boomers Opt To Keep It Real

Here's a piece by David Graham of The Toronto Star that mirrors a lot of what I tell clients:

Boomers come of age and opt to keep it real
Fad diets are for losers. Bulging biceps are passé. And cosmetic surgery just doesn't cut it anymore … As (Baby Boomers) prepare for retirement, they are quietly reflecting on their obsessive struggles to stay young. And after decades of marathon workouts, killer diets and extreme makeovers, boomers are realizing - it's a sucker's game.

I've bloviated about this before. Many times. And there's a huge chunk about it in a chapter of my book. Here's a bit of it:

And this doesn't surprise me:

What's more, trend watchers are predicting this relaxed attitude among boomers is infecting younger generations … This new common sense revolution is extolling the aging process as a good thing, wrinkles and all.

Good to know that most Boomers would rather spend their time and money so they can feel, look, and be healthy - instead of self-consciously walking around like pod people wrapped in cellophane.

The Silver Market Phenomenon

I've just finished a chapter for a book due out in early 2008. It's a project spearheaded by Dr. Florian Kohlbacher of The German Institute for Japanese Studies and Dr. Cornelius Herstatt of The Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at the Hamburg University of Technology titled The Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities in an Era of Demographic Change. Springer Press is the publisher.

This will undoubtedly be the most varied resource of global marketing information and techniques for targeting the 50+ demographic. At least twenty-five (probably more) professionals from around the world will be contributing.

My prediction: The Silver Market Phenomenon will be the perfect companion for Dick Stroud's influential The 50-Plus Market. (And the rumor mills are buzzing with word that Mr. Stroud may be a contributor.)

That's all I know for now. Stay tuned.

Time to Retire the 'R' Word

Copley News Service columnist Joe Volz had me chuckling with this piece of his:

Time to retire the 'R' word
It's time to retire that infamous "R" word - retirement. At least that's the way it looks to this commentator, who has "retired" and unretired four times … Retirement, by the way, was an irrelevant word for the poor folks who needed to work forever. Now the word is irrelevant for nearly everyone. Many baby boomers, now turning 60, are healthier and want to work forever. Many shift to different kinds of careers … So "retirement" is kind of an inoperative word.

I was saying pretty much the same thing a few years ago:

Contrary to popular myth, Baby Boomers do not believe that they are still teenagers or young adults. (Some probably do, but they need therapy.) Boomers are slyly redefining what it means to be the ages they are. Included in this new definition are some youthful attitudes - but the real change is that instead of winding down, many are winding up. We're not 'looking forward to retirement,' we're looking forward to new lives, new challenges. Only a small percentage will opt for pure retirement. (I predict that in twenty years the word 'retirement' will still be in dictionaries, but followed by the modifier archaic.)

And Joe talks about all those names Baby Boomers (Whoops, there's one!) and everybody else assigns us. A client of mine is GRAND Magazine - and what Joe brings up is a big topic over there:

Even grandparents are trying to rebrand themselves. The Arizona Republic newspaper reports that the image of grandma and grandpa has changed markedly. Actor Will Geer who played Grandpa on the Waltons looked old. Like a grandpa. But blonde bombshell Goldie Hawn has just become a grandma and she calls herself "Glamma."

Joe is having a contest:

Well, let's work on some new vocabulary before some 30-something marketing wizard for a drug company comes up with some cutesy word. Send me your suggestions. Maybe, we can even get the American Society on Aging to change its name.

… Thirtysomething marketing wizards. Yeah, I talk about that subject every so often.