Sixty Years Old or Sixty years young

There was a TV commercial that played out a lot on Doordarshan. Late eighties I think. A trim, genial, `old’ man chivalrously gives his spot in the elevator to a woman. He takes the stairs instead, compelling, a younger man to follow suit. The `older’ man makes it effortlessly. The younger one is left behind panting. Admiring FVO: `Saanth saal ke buddhe ya saanth saal ke jawaan?’ Roughly speaking `60 years old or 60 years young?’ The commercial was for Zandu Pharma’s Kesari Jeevan.

The August celebrations of India’s 60 are just about winding down and if you were to ask marketers - `60 years old or 60 years young?’ the answer would be an unequivocal `60 years young!’ That’s because like the world, we are fixated on the 365 million strong 18 to 35 year olds - our future consumers and target audience. On the verge of starting their earning lifecycle, they are looking to start lifelong (inshallah) love affairs with brands. They matter because they have the moolah.

Yet marketers would do themselves a favour if they shifted their gaze just a wee bit. Look up and you will find a demographic that’s crying out to be serviced. At about 78 million the numbers the 60+ set doesn’t inspire as much drool as the youth but like the man in the Zandu ad, 60 year olds are 60 years young. It’s not about pity or social service. It’s about supplying a genuine demand. It’s about commerce. Life expectancy is up. Healthcare is getting better. Children are becoming financially independent a whole lot earlier. There are greater saving options and more financial freedom. But more critical than all this is the genuine urge most senior citizens have to engage with the world. To taste life in all its new fangled glory.
McCann-Erickson’s Mastercard commercial - young man treats his parents to a foreign holiday, business class travel, a limousine ride and a day at the amusement park - amplifies another key point - if the older generation wants to get a life the younger generation is most likely willing to pick up the tab.

Hindi films have already cottoned on to this trend. If four years ago Ravi Chopra’s Baghban articulated it, recently ad man Balki’s Cheeni Kum updated it. Amitabh Bachchan’s blistering real life career, coupled with increasingly adventurous reel life roles have made him its made-to-order brand ambassador. And if he is living life king size, there are scores of Mr. and Mrs. Wagles shedding deep rooted inhibitions and social constraints to take a shot at life. So grandmothers are getting net savvy to keep track of a globetrotting flock and older couples are forming even smaller nuclear families.

Go to public parks in the morning - and the majority of the people there are senior citizens. They are checking out new fashions even if they aren’t wearing them, debating news, swapping stories of their travels. Little surprise that M&M’s Logan was offering itself for a test drive early one morning in Mumbai’s famous Shivaji Park recently and Bisleri was handing out leaflets for returnable jars. While financial services and healthcare brands have traditionally targeted the 60+ there's an opportunity for everyone. They would be happy to use convenient food sensitive to their health needs; multiplex and restaurant discounts; security products; communications devices; travel aids; holidays, training schools, grooming products; media; networking sites; homes; the list is endless. Daada daadis and nana naanis are also more generous to sales pitches and can be co-opted into your sales team as they often advise kids on big ticket buys. On another note altogether brands grandparents trust become heritage brands imbued in equal parts with retro-chic and nostalgia.

While we are not yet close to where the USA finds itself, three fourths of its money is with the baby boomers, our time starts now. As India goes past 60, its time the 60+ consumer comes of age.