Silver Market

Silver Market
By Dhedin Catherine
Academic supervisor: Nguyen Arthur
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of
International Trade and Management
Individualized

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Table of content
Table of content 1
I. Introduction 5
II. Literature review 8
1. Who qualifies as a senior? 8
2. Chronological and cognitive age 10
3. The necessity of segmenting this market 12
3.1 Market segmentation 12
3.2 Segmentation process 13
3.3 An effective segmentation tool 14
4. Generational marketing 16
4.1 What is a generation? 17
Figure 1 - Segmentation by generation in France (translation) Kessous &
Roux (2011) 19
Figure 2. Seniors, 4 marketing segments 20
4.1.1 Marketing to the “Masters”, born between 1951 and 1965 (55
to 69) 20
4.1.2 Marketing to the “Liberated”, born between 1941 and 1950 (70
to 79) 21
4.1.3 Marketing to the “Elders”, born between 1931 and 1940 (80 to
89) 22
4.1.4 Marketing to the “Great Elders”, born between 1911 and 1930
22
4.2 The importance of ethics in generational marketing 23
III. Silver Advertising - Case study 24
1. Overall research design 24
2. Media selected 26
3. Stereotypes 27
4. France 29
4.1 Advertising analysis 30
4.2 Advertising in France 31
4.2.1 Chips Lays 31
Lay’s advertising for chips, on television (2004) 31
4.2.2 BNP PARIBAS: To be young and the bank, 2001 33
BNP Paribas, 2014 33
4.2.3 America - Pepsi VS Coca 35

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Pepsi Commercial, “Choice of a new Generation”, 1984-1991 35
4.2.4 France - Coca Cola’s commercial, 2006 and 2018 37
5. Japan 39
6. France Vs Japan 43
7. Seniors in advertising, evolutions 45
IV. Findings and Discussion 47
1) Opinion 47
2) Critics 51
3) Suggestion for improvement 52
Conclusion 56
Limitations of the study 57
Opening 57
Reference 59
Annexes 66
1) Senior women lifestyle trend 66
2) Senior men lifestyle trend 67
3) Kimiko Nishimoto 68

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Abstract
This thesis aims at analysing the portrayal of the elderly in French advertising, with
parallels made with Japanese advertising as well as American advertising. The study,
centred on seniors and the massive economic opportunity they represent worldwide,
and more specifically on the portrayal that is made of them in advertising, was
performed with a documentary methodology. A focus is made on generational
marketing.
Based on the fact that seniors are an underestimated target, underrepresented in
advertising, this thesis aims at looking on whether the portrayal of seniors evolved and
why it should.

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Acknowledgments
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who have helped
me along the way, from my first year in university to this last. I had the chance to
participate in several exchange programs and a few significant school projects in
collaboration with various companies (DWYT, Go Nuts, Visiativ, Kakudai Seika, Mie
Toyota and JTL), working on their internationalization strategy.
First, I’d like to thank Professor Nguyen A. from the University Jean Moulin Lyon III,
for his guidance, encouragement and patience throughout this process. The time and
insight that he provided to strengthen and refine this thesis, especially in the light of
the Covid-19 whole situation, has been of tremendous help. This thesis is a product of
his scholarly guidance for which I am grateful.
I would also like to thank Professor Dominguez from the IAE Lyon, who has been a
model as a teacher, providing wonderful lessons throughout my first year of master’s
degree in International Trade and Management, by communicating her own passion
for International Business. My thanks must extend to the IAE Lyon for supporting my
academic pursuits and teaching me the importance for advancing in an International
Business context.
Next, my thanks are going to my mother, who’s inspired this thesis’s subject by
instilling in me the need to do something regarding her future as a senior. And of
course, to my friend who took the time to read those pages, to check for consistency.
Finally, I thank the Erasmus and Erasmus + programs that have allowed me to both
study and work in England for a year, Germany for 3 months and finally Japan for a
year. Those experiences transformed my resume into an international one, broadening
my future careers prospects while opening my mind.

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I. Introduction
“Today’s seniors don’t look anything like the stereotypes of the past when marketing
publications depicted them in wheelchairs and walking with canes.”1
The world’s population is rapidly aging and is expected to cause an unprecedented
demographic shock, with the number of people over 60 years old expected to more
than double by 2050, surpassing the number of young people for the first time in history.
In Europe, 25% of the population is already 60 years or older, and this percentage is
expected to go up to 35% in 2050. Populations in other countries are also forecasted
to age significantly over the coming decades.2 From France to Japan, who has the
world’s oldest population, the challenges are the same. Adapting to an aging society
and the shrinking number of children, as “this segment of the population is growing
faster than any other age groups”.3
The global decline in fertility, coupled with longer life expectancy, is leading to an
increase in the number of elderly people. A demographic evolution that is now pushing
both politics and businesses worldwide to take measures to adapt. If a company wants
to survive, in any sector, it has to adapt to its changing environment. It has been proven
that a company failing to keep pace with its environment, especially in this highly
competitive globalized world, would be the first one to go.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that
survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”, Charles Darwin.
In this specific context, the term “Silver Economy” was born. As its name indicates, the
Silver Economy is “dedicated to the elderly in our societies”. More than a simple
market, it envelops every sector and industry, from robotics to health, insurance to
shopping, beauty to sports, and so on and so forth…4.
Rather than “ghettoising” the elderly in a few markets (such as health, home
accommodation and tourism), as it is usually done, the idea is to extend it to every
sector, acknowledging seniors as human beings, rather than going along with
stereotypes. Both governments and businesses need to adapt their policies and
products, in order for them to answer the needs of their aging population, aging target
market.
1 Rutigliano, K., 2020. Council Post: Stellar Strategies For Marketing To Seniors. [online] Forbes.
2 Marchedesseniors.com. 2020. SILVER ECONOMIE Et Marché Des Seniors - AGEECONOMIE.COM.
[online]
3 Un.org. 2019. Ageing. [online]
4 Staff, E., 2020. Silver Economy And Ageing Well International Awards: Discover The Jury Members!
— Silver Economy. [online] Silvereco.org.

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Rengot N.(2015) defined it as an economy covering, affecting, a plurality of markets
for the seniors. “Silver” is identified as referring to the grey colour of the hair of the
elderly (symbol of aging), while “economy” is the result of the government desire to
stress that the Silver Economy is covering several markets and involves every goods
and services involved in answering the needs related to the ageing in the French
population.5
In France, a contract was signed between the French government and private players
in that sector with the ambition of making France a “world leader” in this market,
identified as a huge economic opportunity.6
But even though this economic opportunity has been acknowledged, the question of
how to market to seniors remains. How to communicate with them. Legitimate question
as a study from “50+ Consommation Senior” has found that 80%7 of the projects
designed for seniors were failing, and one of the reasons invoked is an inadequate
communication. Which leads us to ask ourselves the following question:
With regards to France’s growing interest in the Silver Economy, how are
seniors portrayed in French advertisements?
Being able to answer senior’s needs has revealed itself to be rather challenging over
the last decades for many companies, as the previous 80% failure statistic can attest.
Therefore, this thesis will engage in analysing how seniors are and should be
represented in marketing, and more specifically in advertising. A problem that will bring
us to look at the very definition of what a senior is, at how the senior population is
targeted, and the stereotypes used in advertising when portraying the elderly.
In order for us to answer those questions, a documentary analysis will be performed,
by taking a close look at both research articles as well as mainstream press and
several advertisement cases, from both France and abroad, with a focus on Japan, a
pioneer in Asia in addressing the needs of the elderly. The objective being to identify
what companies are now doing advertising8 wise, and what the most suitable elements
characterizing a successful advertisement towards seniors are. Advertising being
defined as “a form of marketing communication used by companies to promote or sell
products and services. [...]. The primary goal of advertising is to influence the buying
5 Rengot, N. (2015). La Silver Économie : un nouveau modèle économique en plein essor.
Géoéconomie, 76(4), 43-54. doi:10.3917/geoec.076.0043.
6 CCI France Japon. 2020. Silver Economy. [online]
7 Fredericserriere.com. 2020. Frédéric Serrière [Site Principal]. [online]
8 Courses.lumenlearning.com. 2016. Advertising | Principles Of Marketing [Deprecated]. [online]
Definition advertising according to courses.lumenlearning.com : Advertising has three primary
objectives: to inform, to persuade, and to remind.

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behaviour by promoting a product, service, or company. To achieve this goal,
advertising focuses on creative positioning and media. In doing so, advertising
spreads awareness about what you have to offer.”9
At first, this thesis will take a look at the existing literature to understand the necessity
of developing advertising specifically designed to seniors. Which will be done by
highlighting what a senior is, their characteristics and expectations, in order for us to
understand the challenges and opportunities offered by this segment of the population.
But also, by looking at marketer’s strategy when it comes to address this segment
(segmentation by age, by generation, …) and the fact that no consensus was found
on that matter. The focus will be placed on generational marketing.
The next part will be an analysis of what has been done in advertising to the seniors,
identifying the stereotypes used when portraying the seniors in commercials.
Finally, we will discuss our findings and identify the characteristics of a successful
advertising strategy for seniors, what could be done better.
9 Small Business Trends. 2016. The Difference Between Marketing And Advertising - Small Business
Trends. [online]

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II. Literature review
This chapter will go through a literature review on generational marketing and the
reason why this latter is so important in understanding a target market as
heterogeneous as this one: the seniors.
A generational marketing leading to a better understanding of the senior market, in
order for marketers to elaborate adequate advertising, by addressing needs and
expectations that are relevant and unique to each generation. Each of them has
different lifestyles, interests, and values than their parents’ generation. This is this
uniqueness that allows marketers to identify what it is that appeals to them, to identify
what the key elements in marketing should be when looking at a specific generation.
By identifying factors of influence such as values, lifestyles, experiences, expectations,
generational history and demographics, marketers will be able to identify a pattern,
what it is that the target wants and expects.10 Therefore, this section will analyse what
a senior is, the distinct characteristics of the current seniors, and the segmentation
tool that appears to be the most suited to our highly heterogeneous market.
The objective being to identify how to better serve this population.
1. Who qualifies as a senior?
Before anything, let’s clarify the term “senior”, widely used to refer to older citizens,
the elderly. “Seniors” being a general term used to refer to people close to enter, or
already entering, retirement age, people in late adulthood. The term “senior” is
therefore used differently in different countries.
Treated as invisible beings in marketing up to the end of the 80s, they are now
becoming increasingly looked at.11
Despite having many scholars debating on the precise age where a person becomes
a “senior”, no consensus has been found. In most researches conducted in France, it
appears that researchers12 are following the dictionary definition of the term and
10 Williams, Kaylene & Page, Robert. (2011). Marketing to the Generations. Journal of Behavioral
Studies in Business. 3. 37-52.
11 https://www.e-marketing.fr/. 2020. Seniors - Définition Du Glossaire. [online]
12 Chevalier, C., Le Serre, D. and Lichtle, M., 2013. La recherche d’information des seniors:
Caractéristiques et Typologie | Association Française Du Marketing. [online] Afm-marketing.org.

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Davidson’s (2005) opinion on that matter. Establishing the chronological age
characterizing an adult entering the senior category at 50 years old.13
Some scholars say 501415 when others are arguing 6016, but this thesis will go along
with the French official definition of a senior, without trying to argue on whether or not
this definition should be revised (in the light of longer life expectancies, later retirement,
…).17
However, let’s highlight that in other countries, such as Japan18 and English-speaking
countries for example, the generally accepted chronological age range for this
category is 60 to 65 and above.19
Over the years, the term used to designate this segment of the population has been
through lots of changes, evolving through times. From disrespectful terms such as
“fossils” to today’s “seniors”, as the society adapted to its changing demography and
evolving definitions of the politically correct. Many labels are used to designate the
50+ population, such as “senior citizen”, “elderly”, “mature consumers”, “seniors”,
“older consumers”, and researchers don’t hesitate to use several of them in their
articles, treating it as synonyms, interchangeable words.
The terminology used to refer to the elderly can vary greatly, globally as well as
nationally, with a large number of varying definitions. Researchers like Ian Patterson
and Adela Balderas, have engaged in this topic, identifying the lack of consensus on
how to define the “seniors”, by going through a literature review on this matter20.
Mentioning researchers like Gonzalez et al (2009), highlighting that the heterogeneity
of this age group is “so extensive” that there could be no general consensus on how
to describe them.
13 Larousse, É., 2020. Définitions : Senior - Dictionnaire De Français Larousse. [online] Larousse.fr.
14 Moss, Gloria & Wulf, Catharina & Mullen, Hilary. (2013). Internet Marketing to 50+ Generations in the
UK and France. Journal of International Consumer Marketing. 25. 45-58.
10.1080/08961530.2013.751799.
15 Chevalier, C., 1999. La perception des publicités par les seniors. [online] Jstor.
16 Boulbry, G., 2006. Caractère Nostalgique Perçu D'une Publicité - Proposition D'une Échelle De
Mesure Adaptée Au Contexte Culturel Français Et À Des Segments D'âges Opposés. [online] Afm-
marketing.org.
17 Delphine Le Serre. Le marché des seniors - opportunité de croissance pour l'industrie touristique
mondiale. Sep 2007, Paris, France. ⟨halshs-00260174⟩
18 https://stats-japan.com/. 2017. Senior Citizens｜Statistics Japan : Prefecture Comparisons. [online]
19 Serre, D., 2008. Who Is The Senior Consumer ?, In Conference Proceedings, International Marketing
Trends Conference, Venice, Italy, (2008). [online] Academia.edu.
20 Patterson, I. and Balderas, A., 2018. Continuing And Emerging Trends Of Senior Tourism: A Review
Of The Literature. [online] Researchgate.

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2. Chronological and cognitive age
When looking at chronological age, researchers have tried to segment the category
“senior” for many years now, always looking for an accurate way to sort out this
category of the population.
Indeed, once adults reach the age of 50, they don’t “magically become” an
homogeneous group any more than they were homogeneous before, when they were
younger21.
The term “seniors”, following the official definition, refers to every single person aged
from 50 to over 85 years old. Which makes it impossible not to try to segment this
huge portion of the population, considering that this market of the above 50 years old
is composed of diverse segments, with different needs and demands. The most widely
used example in this field is the one comparing baby boomers to “the rest of the
seniors”. This generation in particular is targeted by companies that are now looking
at the Silver Economy, with good reasons.
As mentioned in an article written by Bernard Ennuyer regarding the “when” we are
considered to be old, he mentions several studies on this matter. Such as the one from
Jean-Paul Tréguer 22 (founder of the Senioragency), categorizing the seniors as
follows:
- The Masters, or the ones from 50 to 60
- The Liberated, or the ones from 60 to 75
- The Peaceful ones, or the ones from 75 to 85
- The Great Elders, or the ones over 85
According to this study, each of those segments have “needs, lifestyles, household
configurations, varying generational cultural references that require differentiated
marketing approaches, as you don’t want to put all the seniors in the same bag”. 23
However, Bernard Ennuyer highlights that beyond the chronological age, there are
biological and social age, and by extension, he concludes on how inaccurate this type
of segmentation is. For him, this “people aged over…” type of segmentation is failing
in taking into account the following:
21 Roger Hiemstra, Maureen Goodman, Mary Ann Middlemiss, Richard Vosco & Nancy Ziegler (1983)
How older persons are portrayed in television advertising: Implications for Educators, Educational
Gerontology, 9:2-3, 111-122
22 Tréguer, J., 1994. Le Senior Marketing. Paris: Dunod.
23 Translated From : Ennuyer, B. (2011). À Quel Âge Est-On Vieux : La Catégorisation Des Âges :
Ségrégation Sociale Et Réification Des Individus. Gérontologie Et Société, Vol. 34 / 138(3), 127-142.
Doi:10.3917/Gs.138.0127.

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- The generational factor: how can we compare people born in the twenties to
people born in the forties
- Social classes: how can we compare senior managers to agricultural
employees, being in terms of health, level of education, …
- Gender factor
- …
Indeed, the use of chronological age as a tool for segmentation has been largely
discussed by researchers, claiming for example that it was more relevant to refer to
the senior’s “subjective age”. This concept of “subjective age” was first introduced by
Barak and Schiffman (1981) in their Cognitive theory of aging24.
Defined as a concept “initially introduced in marketing to overcome the limitations of
chronological age (actual age) as a criterion to segment the senior market”25, the
subjective age is defined as “the age that the individual considers to be in terms of
"feelings", physical appearance, activities and interests”.26
The vast majority of researchers do acknowledge the necessity of differentiating this
very large segment of the population responding to “seniors”. But most of the research
can’t seem to reach an agreement on how to do so. Some will argue for a chronological
age-related type of segmentation, while others will highlight the necessity to take into
account the cognitive age, others will prone the use of generational marketing, and so
on and so forth.
Beyond the debate on chronological and subjective age, it is the generational element
that is the one that we will retain for this analysis.
Indeed, when targeting people in late adulthood, it is especially difficult to determine
how to both classify and refer to them, and looking at the specificities of one’s
experiences in life that might have impacted him/her greatly, appears to be more than
accurate. Hence, the interest for generational marketing.
24 Patterson, Ian & Balderas, Adela. (2018). Continuing And Emerging Trends Of Senior Tourism: A
Review Of The Literature. Journal Of Population Ageing. 1-15. 10.1007/S12062-018-9228-4.
25 Translated From : Guiot, D. (1999). Âge Subjectif Et Segmentation Des Seniors. Décisions Marketing,
(18), 15-23.
26 Barak, B. And Schiffman, L., 1981. Cognitive Age: A Nonchronological Age Variable. [Online]
Acrwebsite.Org.

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3. The necessity of segmenting this market
3.1 Market segmentation
The purpose of marketing is “to match needs and desires of consumers with the offers
of suppliers particularly suited to satisfy those needs and desires. This matching
process benefits consumers and suppliers and drives an organisation’s marketing
planning process”.27
A marketing planning process that has to include the following: the segmentation, or
more simply put: which consumers to focus on.
Which is why segmentation is considered to be essential to a successful marketing
strategy, as it is fundamental in matching customer’s wants and needs with the
company’s offer, an offer designed to satisfy them specifically.
According to the previously quoted book, the market segmentation definition is as
follows:
“Market segmentation is a decision-making tool for the marketing manager in the
crucial task of selecting a target market for a given product and designing an
appropriate marketing mix [. . .]. Market segmentation is one of the key building blocks
of strategic marketing [. . .], is essential for marketing success, [. . .] and lies at the
heart of successful marketing. Tools such as segmentation [. . .] have the largest
impact on marketing decisions”.
According to the authors, the market segmentation uses criterions, such as “age,
gender, country or origin, or stage in the life cycle”. But it can also take into account a
larger set of characteristics, like the benefits sought when purchasing a product for
example.
If a company were to choose not to use market segmentation, it would mean that they
are adopting an undifferentiated market strategy, which translates into having no need
to segment a specific market, for the simple reason that every single person is targeted
(ex : petrol).
Therefore, market segmentation leads to a better understanding of consumers, and is
crucial, especially when the market is heterogeneous as much as ours.
27 Dolnicar, S., Grün, B. and Leisch, F., 2018. Market Segmentation Analysis - Understanding It, Doing
It, And Making It Useful. Springer Open, pp.4-10.

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3.2 Segmentation process
Identifying a market is only the first step. The challenge resides in identifying this
specific market’s needs and demands, to then isolate what it is that should be
presented to them in terms of products and services.
To do so, and considering the uniqueness of the senior market and the rather recent
interest that is directed towards them, the question is how to deal with this market.
What tools should be used.
Old ones? With the risk of falling into the trend of “youthism”28, or the trend of
celebrating the youth.
Or new ones, more adapted to this “new” market?
For example, and when looking at Steve Baron’s article, an elder point of view on the
elder’s marketing strategy, it appears that he believes that the segmentation process
is not the one for this specific market, that it isn’t effective, and rather “cold”29. Even
though marketing can be defined as “an attitude of mind concerning customer
satisfaction rather than a set of techniques simply to “sell” products or services”.30
But other researchers, like Norbert H. Meiers and Bernd Seeberger have concluded
on the fact that marketing to seniors doesn’t require marketing to be reinvented. They
concluded their analysis by saying that “it is essential to apply existing marketing
knowledge to the older target groups, to identify generation-specific particularities and
to utilize cross-generational opportunities”31. And this is the optic taken by our research.
Let’s remind that marketing, at first, wasn’t considering the seniors as a priority target,
far from it. Indeed, and as stated by many researches used in our study, seniors only
recently became an interesting target for businesses and hence for marketing, which
is making this topic particularly interesting in terms of evolution, and from many
perspectives.
They still, and probably won’t ever be a top priority target, but they clearly are taking
much more space in the advertisement sphere than in the past.
Another example is the one from researchers like Antoine J.32, who is identifying a
continuity between the needs of younger adults, and the ones of the elderly. He
identifies two effects:
28 Translated from the French “jeunisme”
29 Baron, Steve. (2008). An elder's reflection on marketing to the elderly. The Marketing Review. 8. 313-
328. 10.1362/146934708X378604.
30 McDonald M., Christopher M., Bass M. (2003) Market segmentation. In: Marketing. Palgrave, London
31 H. Meiners, N. and Seeberger, B., 2010. Marketing To Senior Citizens: Challenges And Opportunities.
[online] Citeseerx.ist.psu.edu.
32 Antoine, J. (2003). Un très bon public « cible » pour le marketing. Gérontologie et société, vol. 26 /
106(3), 279-289. doi:10.3917/gs.106.0279.

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- Age effects
- Generation effects
The first one is related to health issues with, for example, the progressive loss of the
five senses, while the other is about assembling people by generation. Meaning
assembling individuals with similar attitudes, ways of thinking and living. Elements that
are directly linked to the generational factor.
To the generation effect, the author adds the period effect, as a part of the generation
effect.
Indeed, according to the literature, sociology researchers have established that this so
called “period effect” was situated between 15 and 25 years old, the period is critical
in terms of that the individual becomes an adult, a period where he/she acquires a “set”
of reference values such as “acceptance, rejection or modulation of the values
received from the parents, as well as reaction to the current trends and events of the
moment”33. Therefore, this period is recognized as the one where the individual is
getting its own mind, and opinions.
Still according to this research, this critical period is the one that usually defines the
individual for the rest of his life (broadly speaking). This critical period, based on this
research, would be a turning point on what is making a generation what it is, what it is
to become.
An individual starting its adult life in a good economic situation versus one starting
adulthood in a period of crisis (war, economic crisis, covid-19, …) will produce
generations with an entirely different mindset from one another. But of course, as
highlighted in this study, it isn’t immutable, meaning that it is susceptible to change in
the light of later events.
3.3 An effective segmentation tool
As previously discussed, individuals are fundamentally defined by their experiences.
A human being becomes who he is when going through life experiences. Therefore,
generational marketing appears to be checking every box as to how to understand our
target, the seniors.
Seniors are the ones that have gone through the most experiences, and, according to
Antoine J., to understand the senior’s expectations, identifying the major events they
went through is essential, especially since it represents over 50 years of life
experiences.
The second element to take into account, is to “situate them in their life cycle”. Meaning,
whether they are retired or still active, death of a spouse, children moving out, …,
considering that those events are “life changing” events, that are more than
susceptible to change one’s behaviour (buying behaviour included).
33 Translated from French to English directly from the article quoted above.

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The two over elements he mentioned, as of the segmentation process, are level of
wealth and health related. Whether an individual is autonomous or not, what he can
afford and where he lives (countryside, major city, …) is game changing as to what he
needs and wants.
What has to be kept in mind when studying generations, as briefly mentioned
previously, is that the generations’ identification is subjective and specific to each
researcher, which makes it more difficult to study. Both the dates and names given to
the generations are not generalized, internationally as well as nationally.
As mentioned by Tan Kai Hun and Rashad Yazdanifard (2014)34, the consumer
segmentation “allows marketers to allocate marketing resources effectively on these
specific groups of consumers”. They identify four types of commonly used
segmentation:
- Geographic segmentation, based on geographic region units (city, town, …)
- Psychographic segmentation, based on personality traits, lifestyle, or character,
and such
- Behavioural segmentation, that is based on brand loyalty, brand knowledge, ...
- Demographic segmentation, that is based on age, gender, education,
occupation, or income.
He then associates the demographic segmentation with generation X, Y and Baby
boomers, and presents the generational segmentation as being “the most basic
segmentation [and it’d] provide many benefits if research were done correctly and
applied accurately. It can be very effective”.
Hence, by understanding those generations and their differences, marketers could
define an “effective and appropriate strategy” in communicating with them.
34 Hun, Tan & Yazdanifard, Assc. Prof. Dr. Rashad. (2014). The Impact of Proper Marketing
Communication Channels on Consumer's Behavior and Segmentation Consumers. Asian Journal of
Business and Management. 2. 155-159.

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4. Generational marketing
“Generational marketing mainly refers to issues of segmentation and targeting,
whether this is to give preference to a generation by devoting special products to it, or
conversely to attempt to rally several different generations around a brand”.35
As reviewed, lots of research has been made on how to segment this market. For
example, in the past, chronological age was the reference in terms of segmentation.
But since then, a lot has changed, and one of this age-based type of segmentation
“improved” version, is the Generational Cohort Theory. A segmentation that is
necessary, as it will allow marketers to both create adequate content and diffuse this
content on the proper channels.
As defined earlier, generations are sharing experiences. Individuals experience social
major changes at the same time, giving them what is called a “shared generational
consciousness”, which can also be called a collective memory.
As suggested by its name, generational marketing is about segmenting consumers on
the base of the generation they belong to.
Studies like the one performed by Delphine Manceau and Élisabeth Tissier-
Desbordes’s (1999)36, chose to take a look at the generational aspect, rather than
directly analyzing the impact of age, considering it to be an “important criterion” for
understanding public perceptions and attitudes, especially in the context of their study :
advertising. A study concluding on highlighting the weight of generations in the
segmentation process.
Another example would be the one of Antoine, J.(2003)37, who concluded his article
on senior marketing by identifying the generational marketing as effective in
segmenting the population according to their age. An article that has been thoroughly
used in this study.
35 Bourcier-Béquaert, B. & De Barnier, V. 2010, "Toward A Larger Framework Of The Generation
Concept In Marketing: Ram Ram", Recherche Et Applications En Marketing, Vol. 25, No. 3, Pp. 115-
134.
36 Manceau, D., & Tissier-Desbordes, É. (1999). La Perception Des Tabous Dans La Publicité : L'impact
Des Variables Socio-Démographiques. Décisions Marketing, (16), 17-23.
37 Antoine, J. (2003). Un Très Bon Public « Cible » Pour Le Marketing. Gérontologie Et Société, Vol. 26
/ 106(3), 279-289. Doi:10.3917/Gs.106.0279.

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4.1 What is a generation?
Originated from the greek verb “to come to life”, let’s define the concept of “generation”,
accordingly with the definition given by Lorey T., and Albouy J., (2015).38
“Generation” is a term that is both “polysemic and multidisciplinary”, translating it into
a term that is free of interpretation, as it covers various senses and meanings, while
being involved in various academic disciplines.
Indeed, when it comes to generational marketing, authors are often having different
interpretations of the term. For some of them, the main element to retain is age
(seniors vs teenagers vs adults), while others are looking into generations known as
baby boomers, millennials, generation X, generation Y, …. Different approaches that
are making it rather difficult to study.
A situation described by Bourcier-Béquaert, B., & de Barnier, V. (2010)39, as being
partly due to the fact that “generation” is “a broad concept that can be divided into two
areas of investigation: cohort generations and family generations”.
On one hand, a cohort is “a set of individuals who are influenced over the course of
their life by historical and social events”, and on the other, family, or filiation, which is
“a relational concept bound to the realm of kinship and descent".
But the use of this cohort generation type of study, designed to understand and classify
the society, have led to a highly heterogeneous marketing research, as many
disciplines are using it, associating it with varying definitions.
A study performed by Agnès Pecolo, Myriam Bahuaud mentioned this issue of
heterogeneity of the research, by highlighting that often, researchers tend to refer to
"generational marketing" (segmentation by age) abusively. Which leads to confusion
between age and generation. For them, the way of using the term “generational
marketing” abusively, is so that it isn’t the codes of a generation that are solicited, but
those of a particular life cycle (childhood, adolescence or old age).40
According to the previously quoted article, a researcher named Arrias-Donfut (1991)
distinguished four approaches to generation:
 Genealogical: when there is a filiation relationship between individuals,
 Historic: when indicating the age difference between parents and children’s
 Demographic: when referring to people of the same age,
38 Lorey, T., & Albouy, J. (2015). Perspective Générationnelle De La Consommation De Vin En France :
Une Opportunité Pour La Segmentation. Décisions Marketing, (79), 93-112.
39 Bourcier-Béquaert, B., & de Barnier, V. (2010). Toward a larger framework of the generation concept
in marketing: RAM RAM. Recherche Et Applications En Marketing, 25(3), 115-134.
40 Translated from : Pecolo, A. & Bahuaud, M. (2017). Traversée des âges et des générations : jouer
avec le temps en mode publicitaire. Questions de communication, 32(2), 325-340.

18
 Sociological/Experiential: when people being about the same age are sharing
a similar view of the world, due to a similarity of experiences through life.
“The concept of generation, initially defined in the field of sociology, has not yet been
applied in a significant way to segmentation in marketing”. 41
More simply put, a generation is a group of persons who “travel through life together
and experience similar events at a similar age. That is, they share a common social,
political, historical, and economic environment”.42
Recent studies seem to be focusing on the cohort effect, hypothesising that the era is
a major factor of explanation when it comes to consumption, rather than using age as
a demographic data, it is now considered to be both historical and social.43
Based on Kessous A., and Roux E.’s research (2011)44, each generation has its own
specificities (“intra-generational homogeneity”), and identify the following generations:
tions Years Historical Periods Core Values
After-war
generation
(1928-1947) World war II
“Front populaire”
Respect
Authority
Social Conformism
Baby-
Boomers
(1948-1967) The 30 years of post-war
economic growth
Actors of May 68
Women’s emancipation
Freedom
Idealism
Generation X (1968-1977) End of the Cold War
Divorces
Hippie movement
Diversity
Baba-cool
Generation Y (1978 - 1988) Terrorism
Aids
Unemployment
Era of new technologies
Hedonism
Achievement
41 Thierry Lorrey, Jeanne Albouy. Perspective générationnelle de la consommation de vin en France :
une opportunité pour la segmentation. Décisions Marketing, Association Française du Marketing, 2015,
79, pp.93-112. ⟨10.7193/DM.079.93.112⟩.
42 Williams, Kaylene & Page, Robert. (2011). Marketing to the Generations. Journal of Behavioral
Studies in Business. 3. 37-52.
43 Bourcier-Béquaert, B. & de Barnier, V. 2010, "Toward a Larger Framework of the Generation
Concept in Marketing: RAM RAM", Recherche et Applications en Marketing, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 115-134.
44 Kessous, A. and Roux, E., 2011. Les Relations Des Consommateurs Aux Marques Perçues Comme
Nostalgiques : Les Effets Générationnelsi. [online] Archives.marketing-trends-congress.com.

19
Figure 1 - Segmentation by generation in France (translation)
Kessous & Roux (2011)
Although, it is worth mentioning that the criteria used to identify those generations tend
to vary from a researcher to another, leading to slight changes in the identification
process (Lorey T. and Albouy A. (2015)45, in terms of both time delimitation and names
of the so called generations.
For instance, scholars like Excousseau (2000), who based his analysis on the Anglo-
Saxon’s theory, and adapted it to the French cultural context, have identified the same
generations but used other names and dates (ex: Heritage generation (1918-1941)
instead of “after war generation (1928-1947)”).
When looking again at Kessous A., and Roux E.’s research (2011), we notice a strong
similarity between the identified French generations and the ones identified in America.
Indeed, and as pointed out by Chauvel L., (2010)46, the French and the American
cases on this specific matter are comparable (although the crisis in America occurred
before France’s, which explains a slight difference in dates). In this latter study as well
as in the previously quoted study performed by Kaylene C. Williams and Robert A.
Page, the following generations were identified:
 Pre-Depression Generation
 Depression Generation
 Baby-Boomers
 Generation X
Looking back at Aribaud, F. and Tréguer, J.’s book on Silver Marketing47, and their
perspective on Generational Marketing, we will now take a closer look at the segments
they identified in France (see figure 1). While doing that, let’s keep in mind that, in
2019, 13.4 million people living in France are 65+, representing 20% of the population.
Amongst those 20%, the trend in lifestyle is to live at home the longest possible.
According to an Insee report from 2016, 96% of the senior men were living home, and
93% of the senior women were living home, confirming this crushing majority of seniors
choosing to remain home (see Annexe 1 & 2 - Population census 2016).48
45 Lorey, T., & Albouy, J. (2015). Perspective générationnelle de la consommation de vin en France :
Une opportunité pour la segmentation. Décisions Marketing, (79), 93-112.
46 Chauvel, L. (2010). Le destin des générations: Structure sociale et cohortes en France du XXe siècle
aux années 2010. Paris cedex 14, France: Presses Universitaires de France.
doi:10.3917/puf.chauv.2010.01.
47 Aribaud, F. and Tréguer, J., 2016. Le Silver Marketing. Dunod.
48 Insee.fr. 2019. Seniors − France, Portrait Social | Insee. [online]

20
Figure 2. Seniors, 4 marketing segments
4.1.1 Marketing to the “Masters”, born between 1951 and 1965 (55 to 69)
Defined as the ones aged 55 to 69 years old as of today, they are mostly still active
and represent the largest portion of our senior population. The authors are associating
this segment with what they refer to as the “connected generation”. They feel young
(i.e. cognitive age) and their buying behaviour reflects that tendency. But they also are
wealthy, with a large purchasing power, due to the fact they are at the top of their
career (big or small).
Following that description, we can easily identify the generation also known as “baby
boomers”, a generation that is now largely targeted by marketers.
What is highlighted in this section of the book, is that if those “masters” are the main
target, even though it doesn’t mean that the other generations should be ignored, but
quite the contrary, considering that they quite logically won’t remain their current age
forever. Hence, the necessity of looking at all generations.
In this book, the authors are classifying the baby boomers as belonging to both the
“Masters” and the “Liberated”.
They are born during the 30 years of post-war economic growth, and they mark the
beginning of the “ageing well” “movement”. This “ageing well” movement seems to be
a trend that first emerged in America, when growing old was no longer seen as a
fatality, but a chance to enjoy a new chapter. As the life expectancy extends more and
more, progress in medicine has also been made, allowing people to remain healthy
longer. Living longer, and in better conditions, the roots of the silver economy.

21
What is said about them, is that they want to get ahead of ageing, and that they are at
the core of economic development. Which explains why countries like France, America,
Japan, and many others, are now looking in that direction for economic growth.
The key word for this segment is pleasure. They are described as caring for comfort,
appearances, fine and healthy food, leisure, and investments. Their children left home,
and they are eager to spend money for themselves.
They hate to be referred to as “seniors”, especially since they do not feel old (i.e.
cognitive age). They want to feel young and following the description that has been
made in this book, they will not hesitate to spend money in the way they look. From
clothes to cosmetic surgery, the trend towards the youth, as mentioned in the early
stage of this study, the “youthism”, is striking them very hard. Feeling, acting, and
looking young seem to be at the core of their concern.
4.1.2 Marketing to the “Liberated”, born between 1941 and 1950 (70 to 79)
This segment also includes the baby boomers, but the oldest part of them. The authors
are naming this segment “May 68”. Freedom is the key word here, as they are now
looking at retirement, “liberated” from the professional world. Hence, they are known
to spend their money in automobile, leisure, health, accommodation, and investments.
They are facing a radical change in lifestyle, as they are no longer dealing with either
work or children. Some consider this new phase as a liberation, but others are anxious
as they are not sure how their life is going to turn out, not sure of how their daily life
will articulate itself without their job, a schedule. On average, senior citizens spend 25
years of their lives in retirement. Time. They have a lot of it, and are known for taking
their time in analysing their options, which translates in purchasing behaviour into
having consumers that are going to compare the different offers available on the
market, both online and physically.
They are referred to as prudent consumers. Their purchasing process is slower, less
impulsive and they need to be convinced. For example, the “made in France” is seen
as a guarantee of quality, a convincing factor.
This chapter of the book qualifies them as being “brand victims”. Indeed, they had a
lifetime of experiencing defective products, poorly made, and are therefore drawn to
the bigger brands, brands that are well known and proven themselves worthy of trust.
On top of that, a change in their life cycle occurs, with the arrival of grandchildren,
turning the seniors into grandparents. A change that is usually well understood by
business as marking a turning point in their purchasing behaviour, as they are going
to start to spend a certain amount of money in games and toys., but also restaurants
and various events (movies, circus, zoo, …).
On top of caring for grandchildren, they also mostly are taking care of their own parents,
who have lost their autonomy and require further care.

22
4.1.3 Marketing to the “Elders”, born between 1931 and 1940 (80 to 89)
This segment is characterized as belonging to the 30 years of post-war economic
growth generation. Their main interest is health. They spend most of their money in
housing adaptation: security, health, and home services, as the signs of aging are
emerging rapidly. Diet concerns are arising, as they need to start watching their diet
for health-related purposes (cholesterol, …). An emphasis is clearly made on adapting
the home environment to their decreasing health, and the progressive loss of the five
senses.
This segment is also statistically the one that is the most susceptible to see the death
of a spouse, as the average life expectancy lies between 78 and 85 years old.
Characterizing the loneliness turning point.
They are known for not spending a lot of money for themselves, and the tendency of
the liberated to look at well established brands is pursued here. They are looking into
remaining autonomous as long as possible, their purchasing criteria are service, trust
and comfort. Prudent, they need to trust before purchasing anything, but it is worth it
as they are known to be loyal to brands.
4.1.4 Marketing to the “Great Elders”, born between 1911 and 1930
They are 90+ years old and belong to what the authors are calling “the rationing”
generation.
They entered a phase where they are no longer independent, they are dependent and
lonely. Their money goes to health, home services and nutrition. They are still looking
into ways of remaining autonomous, and the best way for them to do so, is to rely on
home services and family support. In 2016, ⅔ of the 90+ years old in France were
living at home. And nearly one in two centenarians living at home, alone, as a couple,
or with someone other than their spouse.49
This portion of the senior population is the least wealthy, as most of them are widows,
partly due to the fact that women have longer life expectancy. Widows that are coming
from a time where women mostly were not working and hence, they only receive their
husband’s pension. They are now dedicating their money to necessity products, rather
than pleasure.
Still according to this book from Aribaud, F. and Tréguer, J50, what is at stake business
wise here, is to offer solutions for improving their daily lives. More than anything else.
49 Insee.fr. 2016. 21 000 Centenaires En 2016 En France, 270 000 En 2070 ? - Insee Première - 1620.
[online]
50 Aribaud, F. and Tréguer, J., 2016. Le Silver Marketing. Dunod.

23
4.2 The importance of ethics in generational marketing
An issue that has been raised in one of the articles used previously51, is ethical. Indeed,
one of the main concerns was consideration. Being himself a senior, and reflecting on
marketing to the elderly, Steve Baron sees in the segmentation process a lack of
human consideration, and he states that what is needed is a change of perspective.
And he is not the only one. He uses the following quote, from Patterson (2007):
“It would be a welcome change if academic marketers could act as advocates for the
(elderly) consumers, rather than exclusively on behalf of organisations that simply see
elderly consumers as a cohort that has considerable discretionary income”.
As highlighted by Aribaud, F. and Tréguer, J., approaching the senior consumers is all
about being subtle. What they say is that one of the main rules of generational
marketing, is to place yourself as a senior. To “put yourself in the skin and in the head”
of the consumers you want to address.
“Past experience is not a good predictor of the behaviour of the new generation of over
-50s, yet traditional prejudices persist and stereotypes that are culturally ingrained in
the minds of advertisers continue to work against the older consumer. This is a failure
of the moral and ethical responsibilities of advertisers – and the commercial
responsibility to recognise opportunities presented by all segments of the
population.”52
Which is why this study will move forward by taking a look at those stereotypes,
comparing different commercials to determine what could be done better. We will also
proceed in determining whether stereotypes are still today, harming the advertising
world.
51 Baron, Steve. (2008). An elder's reflection on marketing to the elderly. The Marketing Review. 8. 313-
328. 10.1362/146934708X378604.
52 Carrigan, Marylyn and Szmigin, Isabelle (2000). Advertising in an ageing society. Ageaing and
Society, 20(1), pp. 217-233.

24
III. Silver Advertising - Case study
This section is designed for us to take a closer look at what sort of stereotypes are
used in commercials, in order for us to determine if the seniors, and images of aging,
are portrayed in a negative or stereotypical way. Which, as indicated by the literature
review, is increasingly discussed by researchers.
An analysis that will allow us to isolate the key factor of a successful advertising and,
most importantly for our problematic, what stereotypes are displayed and how seniors
were portrayed before and are portrayed now.
Stereotypes can be defined as being “knowledge structures in long term memory that
contain an individual's beliefs about a particular concept”, and in the case of this study:
the seniors. “These structures are organised in a hierarchical order. That is, each
individual has a schema containing beliefs about the concept of 'elderly adult' which
comprises several distinct but related schemas. These schemas, which consist of sets
of traits that describe types of elderly people, are specific stereotypes”. Those
stereotypes can either be positive or negative. The first is about an idealised image of
the seniors, while the latter is the source of demeaning portrayal of the seniors,
resulting in ridiculing portrays. They take roots in cultural beliefs and result from social
interaction.53
1. Overall research design
As indicated before (i.e. Introduction), a study published in « 50 Plus Communication
Senior” has highlighted that over 80%54 of business projects designed to and for the
seniors have failed partly due to inadequate communication.
A percentage of failure that is so high, that the following question arises: why?
Why and how did advertising to the senior market turn out to be such a challenge to
many businesses?
Which leads us to this section, for us to look at the evolution of the portrayal of the
seniors in advertising, an insight that should give us some clues as to what would be
an effective advertisement for the seniors in France, what stereotypes are used in
advertising, and what more could be done in this area for this increasingly growing
segment. 55
53 W. Miller, D., S. Leyell, T. and Mazachek, J., 2002. Stereotypes Of The Elderly In US Television
Commercials From The 1950S To The 1990S. [online] Warc.com.
54 Staff, E., 2020. Silver Economy And Ageing Well International Awards: Discover The Jury Members!
— Silver Economy. [online] Silvereco.org.
55 AgeingFit. 2020. C'est Quoi La Silver Économie ? | Ageingfit. [online]

25
Part of this question pushes us to look at other countries, such as Japan, for us to
operate a comparison between a country that has been having the world’s oldest
population56 for years now, with a country like France, a country that has expressed
the clear intention of becoming number 1 in the Silver Economy, and yet has a
crushing percentage of failure in businesses’ attempts to communicate with this
market.
Coming from the original hypothesis of this thesis as to the fact that Japan, which has
been having the highest proportion of senior citizens of any country worldwide for
several years now, must be more advanced than a country like France, that has only
expressed its interest in that sector in 201357, in a sector that was only officially
identified in 2012.58
To do so, we will proceed to an analysis of a few commercials, from different countries.
In France, the main subject of our analysis, but also in Japan, that is supposedly so
far ahead of France, with regards to the Silver Economy. Japan being ranked amongst
the top 10 of the countries where seniors have the best living conditions. As opposed
to France, ranked 16th by the Global Age Watch59, an index created in 2013 by the
United Nations and the NGO HelpAge. This index provides an assessment of the
situation of people aged over 60 years old worldwide.60
As we just demonstrated the importance of understanding the senior consumer in
previous sections, we will now proceed to an analysis of different TV commercials from
the late 20th century to the very early 21st century, as well as an analysis of recently
published articles, to determine whether businesses have learned from their mistakes
and improved, and whether the way seniors are portrayed evolved or not, and if so, in
what way. The commercials analysed will be from both France and Japan, but also
from America, in a smaller measure, to underline the international scope of the subject,
to highlight how France isn’t the only one struggling in delivering an accurate portrayal
of the seniors on commercials, but also to put in depth a commercial war between two
worldwide known brands, and one of the commercial used by one of them to discredit
the other, using the elderly in that quest.
56 Marchedesseniors.com. 2020. Japon : Le Pays Le Plus Vieux Du Monde | Ageeconomie - Silver
Économie. [online]
57 CCI France Japon. 2020. Silver Economy. [online]
58 AgeingFit. 2020. C'est Quoi La Silver Économie ? | Ageingfit. [online]
59 Silver Economie. 2016. Ces 10 Pays Où Il Ne Fait Pas Forcément "Bon Vivre" Pour Les Seniors -
Silver Economie. [online]
60 Silver Economie. 2015. Global Age Watch : Quels Sont Les Pays Où Il Fait Le Mieux Vivre Pour Les
Personnes Âgées ? - Silver Economie. [online]

26
2. Media selected
This study is looking at television commercials because the seniors are accounting for
almost a third of the television audience in France61.
It is considered to be the king of the media amongst the seniors.62 And yet, according
to an article from “Les Echo”, this number isn’t reflected in the programs that are
displayed on this specific media. Which sends us back to the “youthism” trend we
mentioned once before in this thesis.63
Most of the programs seem to be designed to seduce a younger audience. “One even
has the impression that television channels spend their time trying to seduce young
people who - the ungrateful! - are moving towards digital and social networks.”64
A situation that is still identified as ongoing today, even though the senior population
is expanding drastically every year. A reluctance that is also displayed in this media’s
contents, advertising included, through stereotypes and inadequate representation of
what a senior actually is.
“Today it's the cult of youth, the cult of beauty, the cult of everything but wrinkles and
memory loss.”65
It was found that the mass media impacts greatly the way people think, feel and act
toward one another66, which is particularly interesting for our study, as the elderly were,
until recently, almost completely invisible or negatively represented on the screen. And
for the small percentage of the seniors’ presence on screen, it mainly was used poorly,
conveying negative stereotypes and ideas about the elderly and ageing in general.
Indeed, the media has a role in supporting ageism as it conveys the cult of youth, it
perpetuates both ageist images and stereotypes. The media, whichever it is,
influences its audience. “Television especially, plays a momentous role in influencing
public outlook on the elderly, and it is often held responsible for bringing about negative
stereotypes of ageing”.67
Television advertising was chosen for our analysis because it appears that this specific
media has a particularly important impact on how seniors are perceiving themselves,
61 Les Echos. 2017. Les Seniors Et La Télévision : Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus. [online]
62 Nouvelles stratégies pour la communication auprès des seniors. 2017. Nouvelles Stratégies Pour La
Communication Auprès Des Seniors. [online]
63 Les Echos. 2017. Les Seniors Et La Télévision : Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus. [online]
64 Translated from : Les Echos. 2017. Les Seniors Et La Télévision : Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus. [online]
65 The Conversation. 2020. Les Consommateurs Seniors, Ces Mal-Aimés De La Publicité. [online]
66 Vickers, K., 2007. Aging And The Media: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow. [online] Core.ac.uk.
67 NursingAnswers.net. 2020. Perception Of The Elderly In Modern Society. [online]

27
but also as the population in general perceives them, and ageing in general.68 Placing
it as the best example in trying to understand how seniors are represented, perceived
by the society.
3. Stereotypes
Until recently, judging by the literature as well as the press, the seniors have been
widely considered in a negative way, often stereotyped as being frail and vulnerable,
sometimes appearing like perfect grandparents, other times appearing like grumpy
human beings, ...
In a study performed by CbNews on the portrayal of the seniors in advertising in the
food industry, 80%69 of the seniors interrogated in France have declared to be finding
themselves to be often stereotyped. Which is no wonder according to several studies
performed on that subject, identifying that marketing specialists often hold
stereotypical views of older consumers, stereotypes such as old, grey, passive and
invisible.70
By having marketing specialists holding stereotypical opinions of the seniors, we end
up with a large percentage of the population that is underrepresented, wrongly
represented even, in advertising, despite having this population being associated with
large consumer markets.
Despite being recognized as a massive economic opportunity by governments
worldwide, seniors remain almost absent from television.71 Which participates in a
large proportion to make those seniors “invisible”. 72 Leading to a rather poor
representation of the seniors in advertising, often portrayed negatively, when
portrayed at all.
But even bigger of an issue, is that seniors are largely unsatisfied with the portrayal
that is made of them. From ageist stereotypes to associations with specific types of
products, roles, …. Seniors tend to be solicited in advertising only when it comes to
promoting products associated with ageing, loss of autonomy, grandparents’ roles,
health …
68 Vickers, K., 2007. Aging And The Media: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow. [online] Core.ac.uk.
69 CB News. 2019. Séniors : Grands Oubliés De La Publicité Ou Futures Stars De L'alimentaire ?.
[online]
70 Nytimes.com. 2019. Older People Are Ignored And Distorted In Ageist Marketing, Report Finds.
[online]
72 Czarnecka, B., 2020. Grey Consumers And Advertising Effectiveness: A European Study. [online]
Academia.edu.

28
An article from The Conversation (2020) identifies that the representation that is made
of the seniors is inaccurate. Seniors are presented as either acting younger than they
are, either older, fragile, and vulnerable. None of the seniors interrogated for this
article’s purposes felt like advertising was delivering an accurate portrayal of what a
senior truly is, they did not feel like it was representing them.
A negative perception of an advertising can only lead to damages to the brand.73 And
yet, stereotypes are legion in advertising.
While the seniors should be a prime target for advertisers, we end up with a “shunned
demographic and caricatured marketing images, perpetuating unrealistic stereotypes
and contributing to age discrimination”.74
A phenomenon that isn’t unique to France, and appears to be a cross national issue,
as this last quote is from the New York Times.
Indeed, the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) reports that although
the 50+ population in the United States accounts for over a third of the population, only
15%75 media images are showing seniors. “Images suggest homogeneity of adults
ages 50 and older and exaggerate stereotypical and outdated physical appearance
characteristics.”
The previously quoted article from the New York Times also reports on the fact that
even though 53 million of the 50+ population are working, only 13¨% of media images
are showing seniors working, as they are mostly confined to appear as being at home,
and less than 5% of images are showing seniors handling technology.76
The youth and the elderly appear as being opposed, one is technophile while the other
is technophobic, the young are motivated and dynamic, while the elders are tired and
unproductive, youth is beautiful and ageing is ugly, seniors are rich, … Stereotypes
that are vehiculated by advertising, as seen with Clinique (American brand) for
instance, and its advertising campaigns for “de-aging” products.77 The focus being on
looking young as long as possible, hence avoiding looking old.
Revealing numbers exacerbating the interest of this area of research, nationally as
well as cross-nationally.
[online]
75 Thayer, C. and Skufca, L., 2019. Media Image Landscape: Age Representation In Online Images.
[online] AARP.
[online]
77 Beauty Decoder. 2018. Pensée Positive, Nivea Choisit Monica Bellucci Et Le Co-Ageing : Bien Vieillir.
[online]

29
Some seniors might be perceived positively, but it appears that there is still a dominant
negative perception in society78. Indeed, when interrogating people about their view of
the seniors, the answer was often linked to negative stereotypes, like diminished both
mentally and physically, sick, depressed, unappealing, difficult to talk to, requires a lot
of attention (loss of autonomy), ...
To take a closer look at the representation of seniors in advertising and in society in
general, we will now proceed to an analysis of the situation in both France and Japan,
but also in America with a case study of two popular brands sold worldwide, fighting
through commercials to crush the other.
4. France
A study published by Afnor, has revealed that 85% of the seniors have expressed the
desire to stay at home the longest possible.79 A situation stressing on the need to take
action on this crucial aspect of this evolving demography’s whole situation. Claimed to
be similar to a constitutional right, the seniors wish to be able to grow old in the comfort
of their own home. A desire that has been heard by the former French Prime Minister
Edouard Philippe (from 2017 to 202080), who declared that: "We need to hear their
desire to age at home". A political acknowledgement of the situation, and yet, not much
has been done towards that end.81
As life expectancy went up by 14 years between 1950 and 2050 (82,73 years old in
2020, in France)82, the new generations of seniors are said to be “younger” longer.
To take the famous baby boomer generation as an example, its members are looking
at retirement with a new approach, differing from the previous generations of seniors.
As mentioned during the literature review, some of them went through events like May
68, experienced a positive economic phase of full employment, .... But they also went
through changes such as women becoming able to work without requiring their
husband’s consent, get a divorce and do something else with their life with their
recently acquired rights, ...
Baby boomers are known for being a generation like no others. A generation known
for proning values like freedom, individualism, feminism, youthism and modernity. Also
78 Nursinganswers.Net. 2020. Perception Of The Elderly In Modern Society. [Online]
79 Enquête Nationale Silver Économie Attente De Consommation Des Seniors Et Leurs Aidants -
Normalisation.Afnor.Org. 2014. [Online]
80 Gouvernement.Fr. 2020. Édouard Philippe. [Online]
81 Marchedesseniors.Com. 2019. Jean-Philippe Arnoux : Plus De 85% Des Français Souhaitent Vieillir
Chez Eux : Et Si On S'attaquait Sérieusement Au Sujet ? | Ageeconomie - Silver Économie. [Online]
82 Macrotrends.Net. 2020. France Life Expectancy 1950-2020. [Online]

30
known for caring about appearances, feeling younger than they are chronologically
(i.e. Cognitive Age) and even more for being big consumers.
Known as the wealthiest generation so far, they represent a massive economic
opportunity. A generation eager to live their life, adepts of the “well ageing” trend, they
are more than innovation friendly, they want it.83
By understanding this generation, by reading this description, it is difficult to imagine
them as being able to put up with stereotypical advertising campaigns.
The baby boomers, nor the other senior generations should feel underrepresented, or
stereotyped, “ghettoised”.
The common belief is that the elders are not good with technology, “technophobic”
even, but as pointed out by Silvereco84, it is a belief more than a truth about the seniors.
According to this source, they are, on the contrary, rather fond of innovation. The same
goes with the use of the Internet, unlike one may think, seniors are big users, to the
point that the term “Silver Surfers” emerged.
In the line of the “Silver Economy”, we get “Silver Surfers”, with a very similar definition.
Silver surfers being defined as a term for senior Internet users.85
Despite the fact that France isn’t in the top 10 of countries where seniors live the most
comfortably (ranked 16th), the founder of the senioragency, Frederic Serrière,
presents it as one of the big player in the industry, along with the United States, the
United Kingdom, China, South Korea and Japan.86
4.1 Advertising analysis
This section will look at various advertising in television, from 2000 to today, in order
for us to look at different examples of the portrayal of the elderly over the last two
decades, for us to identify the stereotypes used in them, and the overall portrayal of
the seniors before and now. To determine the stereotypes and traits associated with
the elderly. The focus will be on each actor’s representation (physical appearance and
psychological state), what they are doing in the commercial (their role), their
relationship and interactions with the other actors in the commercial, and the verbal
content of the advertisement.
83 lsa-conso.fr. 2011. La Vie En Or Des Seniors. [online]
84 Silver Economie. 2017. Retour Sur La Conférence Du 9 Mars 2017 "Les Seniors Et L'innovation" -
85 Definitions-marketing.com. 2015. Silver Surfer - Définitions Marketing. [online]
86 Fredericserriere.com. 2020. Les Pays Les Plus En Avance En Terme De Silver Economie | Frederic
Serriere - Silver Economie Marché Des Seniors. [online]

31
4.2 Advertising in France
As discussed previously, seniors are often portrayed in a negative setting (stereotyped,
invisible, …). But this phenomenon seems to be evolving as time goes by. An article
from Silvereco identifies an emerging trend towards generational marketing, which
hence symbolizes the willingness to understand the consumer. According to this article
(2017), and as studied in our literature review, the goal is to answer the senior’s needs,
by truly understanding them. “Empathy, credibility and sincerity”.87 And hence, cutting
stereotypes.
To do so, various elements and tools should be considered. Like the consideration of
the progressive loss of the five senses at the very least, the attachment to a generation
and therefore calling to feelings by using a personality from the time when the
generation target was young, …
But most of all, avoiding to offend. Being careful in the use of stereotypes.
4.2.1 Chips Lays
Lay’s advertising for chips, on television (2004)88
This commercial by the company Lay’s, is showing a couple of seniors fighting over a
packet of potato chips. If humour probably was the driving force behind this
commercial, it has been such a huge miss that this commercial was forbidden on
French TV in 2013, answering the demand of the Minister Delegate for the Elderly and
87 Silver Economie. 2017. Communiquer Auprès Des Seniors : Les Clés Du Succès - Silver Economie.
88 Koreus. 2013. Pub Lay's (Chips). [online]

32
Autonomy at the time, who felt that the spot was degrading for the elderly and
disabled.89
More specifically, this commercial features an elderly couple and what appears to be
their grandson (in his twenties). The elderly couple, seemingly around their 70s-80s,
end up fighting disgracefully over a bag of chips that fell on the floor when their
grandson left.
As there is a very thin line between humour and hurt, this commercial ended up to be
banned from French television.
As reviewed previously, seniors tend to appear in advertising for TV roles that aren’t
very flattering, as this is the case here, which reflects the view of society on ageing.
- Actors’ representation
Physical appearance: An elderly couple, both in their seventies-eighties, white hair,
old and blend colored clothes, both walking with canes, very slowly and not without
difficulties. The man also has a denture.
Psychological state: N/A
- Actor’s role
The two seniors are what seems to be the grandparents of the third actor, a man in
his twenties.
- Relationship and interactions between the actors
As the grandson eats the last chip of the bowl in front of their nose and leaves the
room with the last pack of chips after saying goodbye, the bag falls from his pocket
and ends up on the floor as he is leaving the room.
The two seniors look at each other and both rush to get the bag of chips, when, with
his cane, the husband trips his wife who falls to the ground rather ludicrously, giving
the man time to grab the packet. He smiles at her with a winning face, but his wife then
holds up the husband's dentures, which she stole in the process, and smiles at him in
a sort of “No teeth, no chips” kind of humour setting.
The grandson comes back after the fight, as he realizes he doesn’t have the bag of
chips anymore. He takes it from his grandfather who won the fight (while the woman
is still lying on the floor after he made her fall)), gave him a goodbye kiss and left with
the bag of chips.
Both the elders are defeated and left there.
89 Life Plus. 2020. Comment S’Adresser Aux Vieux Sans Les Prendre Pour Des Vieux ? | Life Plus.
[online]

33
- Verbal content
N/A
Both of the seniors in this advertising are the stereotype of what a grandparent is.
Looking old, dressed old and slow.
Dressed in tweed and a vest for the man, and like a “regular” granny for the women.
Blend colours and unflattering looks are the recipe that have been used for this
commercial. Added to that the making fun of the diminished mobility capacities of the
two seniors. All of this to finish on a scene where the grandson comes back and takes
the bag of chips from the grandfather in a kiss and goodbye situation, leaving the
audience with a confused old man and an old woman still lying on the floor, while the
young adult leaves the room with a smile on his face.
“"Humour must stay away from deficiencies and the prosthetics that make up for
them." Michèle Delaunay (French Minister of the Seniors and Autonomy at the time).90
Officially recognized this commercial as being undermining the dignity of the elderly.
4.2.2 BNP PARIBAS: To be young and the bank, 2001
BNP Paribas, 201491
A commercial from BNP Paribas, a French bank, from 2001, is an excellent example
of stereotyped representations in advertising, in that we can observe stereotypes for
both the elders and the younger adults, opposed to each other, in similar situations.
90 leparisien.fr. 2013. VIDEO. Personnes Âgées : Une Pub Pour Des Chips Retirée Car Jugée
«Dégradante». [online]
91 YouTube. 2014. Publicité BNP Paribas. [online]

34
Physical appearance: Young adult, in his twenties, dressed like a teenager, a piercing
in the nose, turning into an old man after taking a pill. Gray hair, partially bald head,
grey and thick eyebrows.
Psychological state: When pictured as young, he seems perfectly sane, but after
taking the pill and going back to the bank, he starts laughing like a crazy person, with
the eyes wide open.
- Actor’s role
The actor is a boy in his early twenties who wants to go to the bank, but no one is
taking him seriously (young age, teenage clothes, and piercing). He then finds out
about a pill that can make him credible with his bank. He swallows it and changes into
an old man. He is accepted warmly at the bank, and then goes to a club to party. He
is thrown away down the stairs like garbage because of his “profile”.
As a young person, he is considered as unreliable and unfit to go to the bank without
his parents. But as soon as he is pictured as an old man, the bank is happy to see him
and welcomes him. Before getting rejected from a nightclub by the security guard
because of his old age.
- Verbal content
“I am credible to my banker” in a pill. This advertisement goes on in a store while the
main actor walks in the street and stops to buy it immediately. “At BNP Paribas, no
need to be an adult to be treated right”, “BNP Paribas, the bank of a changing world”.
Catchy sentences to show that one does not need to be old to be accepted in this
bank. (While the opposite is not true for an old man entering a nightclub, in the second
part of the commercial)
The stereotype here is that the elderly is often pictured as being wealthy while the
younger people are stereotyped, perceived to be poor (and therefore to have no value
for a bank).
The same goes for the aesthetic stereotype according to which getting older isn’t pretty,
as the older version of the main actor got ugly as he transformed, grey hair, partially
bold, … simply not good looking. Every trait associated with the seniors (wrinkles, hair
loss, greying hair, …) were exaggerated, as his face ended up looking like papier
mâché.
A commercial, once more from the very early 21st century, that gives us a taste to how
seniors could be portrayed at the time, before having the French government officially
recognizing the existence of the Silver Economy.

35
4.2.3 America - Pepsi VS Coca
Pepsi Commercial, “Choice of a new Generation”, 1984-199192
If this commercial was only broadcasted on American television, it remains a perfect
example for our analysis, in that it shows stereotypes, negative towards the seniors,
in a situation of “war” between two famous brands : Coca Cola and Pepsi. Two brands
that are both present on the French market, and beyond.
This specific commercial was designed for Pepsi to look “cooler” than Coca, younger,
fresher, funnier, ….The commercial is comparing the two beverages “effects”, the first
is revitalizing and makes anyone (even the seniors) fun, while the later would make
anyone (the young) boring.
Physical appearance of the seniors: we have three groups to analyse. First, a group
of elders, all in their 70-80s, if not 90s, acting at least 50 years less than they are, but
still in their “senior look” (typical outfits for seniors at the time, haircuts, …). They
appear as in good health, dancing energetically.
Physical appearance of the young adults: They appear to be barely awake, sipping
coke slowly and noisily through a straw, playing chess.
Psychological state: The seniors appear happy and energetic, while the younger
adults appear sleepy, tired, and acting on slow motion.
- Actor’s role
The group of elders is incarnating young adults having fun, while the young adults are
incarnating seniors “having fun” according to the stereotype that the elders all play
chess. Hence meaning that Pepsi is the young population’s kind of drink, the “new
92 YouTube. 2014. Publicité Pepsi. [online]

36
generation”, while Coke is just for the elders, fossils, who don’t know how to have “real”
fun.
While the seniors are interacting a lot with each other, the young adults aren’t talking,
and are barely awake.
- Verbal content
“Rock’n’roll is okay, but I prefer rap”, says the first older woman talking. The second
actor appearing is a senior having a high five with a friend, using trendy words used
by the youth. The following scene only shows the younger group barely talking except
for announcing chest moves for the sake of the game.
In the famous war opposing Pepsi to Coca, which started in the 80s93, both brands are
“fighting” to be the number 1 in the Cola industry. One of the main weapons used is
advertising. And in this specific case, Pepsi came up with a commercial that was
presenting coke as being an elder’s kind of beverage, and by that they meant anything
but fun or interesting. Between 1984 and 1991, Pepsi's slogan was “Choice of a New
Generation”.94 Which sort of symbolizes what is wrong here, the passion for new
things, and the despise for old ones, as if they were already dead. Just like marketers
ignoring the seniors because they are no longer new, but already in the past, even
though they are still here.
The scenario was articulated around a delivery mistake. On one side, there was a
gathering of elders. And on the other, there was a fraternity house. The latter ordered
the Pepsi when the elders had ordered Coke. Following a mix up in delivery schedule,
the fraternity house was given Coke, while the elders got Pepsi.
The result of drinking Pepsi had a “fun” sort of effect on the elderly, completely pumped
up, dancing, and having tons of fun.
While, on the other side, the fraternity house ended up playing chest at a slow pace,
with no “fun” aspect at all, but rather an emphasis on “boring”.
93 20minutes.fr. 2009. Coca-Cola Et Pepsi: Les Frères Ennemis. [online]
94 Business Insider. 2012. OOPS: Pepsi Let Trademark Lapse On 'Choice Of A New Generation'—Now
It's Owned By An Oatmeal Company. [online]

37
4.2.4 France - Coca Cola’s commercial, 2006 and 2018
In 2006, in the United States, Coca Cola chose to use a senior actor (in his 80s) to
promote its Coca-Cola zero sugar beverage and used the same scenario in Europe
(France included), in 2018.95
On the same line as the one used by Pepsi, where the beverage procures a “fun effect”
to the drinker, no matter his age, Coca Cola showcased a retiree drinking Coca-Cola
zero sugar, being energized and inspired by it.
The difference here, is that there was no comparison between the young and the old,
no criticism of a life mode, of the idea society has of a senior lifestyle. On the contrary,
it was highlighting that the senior, presented as a human being, had a life and
unfulfilled desires, and could fulfil those “even” now.
The commercial was such a success, that the brand chose to re-use it, modernizing
the content, adapting it to the new codes of TV commercials, in 2018.96
Physical appearance of the seniors: Despite being first shown as a resident of a
nursing home, looking at the picture of a sad clown on the wall, alone, the actor
appears well dressed and to have a perfect elocution when speaking (both speed and
tone) from the beginning of the commercial up to the end.
Psychological state: He appears to be in full possession of his capacities, even more
so after drinking Coca-Cola zero sugar.
- Actor’s role
His role is to show how energizing Coca-Cola zero sugar is. The slogan here being
“live with no limits with Coca Cola zero sugar”, so despite being in his 80s, coca cola
can help overcome any limits (here: age and decreased capacities).
A nurse in the nursing home offers the actor a coca cola zero sugar bottle, and the
senior replies that he never tasted it. From the point where he drinks the beverage to
the end, he will interact with a lot of other secondary actors (a crush from before, a
young adult who turns out to be his son, young adults at a gay pride, …). All
interactions are positively showcased.
95 La Communication - Stratégies Marketing, Médias, Digital, RP, Événementiel. 2018. Nouvelle
Campagne "Vivez Sans Limites Avec Coca-Cola Zero Sucres" - La Communication - Stratégies
Marketing, Médias, Digital, RP, Événementiel. [online]
96 Boissons, R., Eaux, B. and publicitaire, C., 2018. Coca-Cola Zero Sucres Présente Sa Nouvelle
Campagne Publicitaire. [online] Rayon-boissons.com.

38
- Verbal content
Humour is the main line, as the actor meets with others (ex : “I am your one true father”
when presenting himself at the door of the young adult’s house, he gets a tattoo and
gets a compliment from a young woman there, ...). “Live without limits, with coca cola
zero sugar”, is the slogan for this commercial.
Overall, the portrayal of the senior actor is positive, as the idea is about overcoming
the limits of ageing, while embracing the seniors' life. Once he drank the coca cola
zero sugar, the actor chose to “live without limits”, by reconnecting with people from
his past (contacting a crush from his past, declaring his love to her), by connecting to
his biological son (who doesn’t seem to be aware of the situation), by going to gay
pride (accidently, but he responds positively when understanding the concept). He
also gets a tattoo and gets a compliment from a young woman there, and finally jumps
in a pool from a very high jumping point (fearless).
This commercial deconstructs many stereotypes, as the actor is presented under
many facets : sexy with his new tattoo, fearless and fun when jumping in the pool,
having a love life when confessing his love to his one true love, fun and unpredictable
when showing up at the doorstep of his biological son, and using the famous sentence
“I am your father”, …
Although the target market is the 15 to 49 years old97, Coca Cola chose to use a senior
for his commercial, which, as discussed, remains today rare in advertising.
This commercial is an example of a positive portrayal of the seniors in a commercial,
both in 2006 (USA) and 2018 (France).
97 Boissons, R., Eaux, B. and publicitaire, C., 2018. Coca-Cola Zero Sucres Présente Sa Nouvelle
Campagne Publicitaire. [online] Rayon-boissons.com.

39
5. Japan
According to the World Bank, the life expectancy of the Japanese is over 84 years98
(84,67 years old, as opposed to 82,73 years old in France, 2020), and it is the
developed country where the share of seniors (here defined as over 65 years old) is
the highest. Placing it as the oldest, but also as a world champion in the Silver
Economy.
In 2014, the senior population was representing 25.4%99 of the total population. A
percentage that hit a record of 28.4%100 in 2019. Japan also figures in the top 10 of
the countries where seniors have the best living conditions, according to the Global
Age Watch Index.101
Their purchasing power is above the average, and the seniors are referred to as
members of what is called the “grand generation”102, also known as “white gold”.
In Japan, the idea of ageing differs from the European countries’ like France. One of
the main cultural elements characterizing Japan, is the respect to the elders. To the
point that they are celebrating it with a bank holiday called “Respect for the Aged Day”
(to be celebrated on September 21st, 2020)103.
The perception of age is different, and the seniors are very active, with the highest life
expectancy in good health in the world.104
In Japan there is an emphasis on experience, an emphasis seen in many aspects of
life there. For example, a diploma won’t propulse an individual to a high ranked job,
only experience will. Everyone starts at the bottom of the company, and sees his
career evolve with experience and age, ageing is not seen as a negative element. For
example, Japan has systems like age-based promotions, lifetime employment and
wages based on seniority.105
98 Donnees.banquemondiale.org. 2019. Espérance De Vie À La Naissance, Total (Années) - Japan |
Data. [online]
99 Presse-citron. 2014. Silver Economy : Des Entreprises Françaises Lorgnent Sur L'exemple Japonais.
[online]
100 Author, N., 2019. Elderly Citizens Accounted For Record 28.4% Of Japan's Population In 2018,
Data Show | The Japan Times. [online] The Japan Times.
101 Silver Economie. 2016. Ces 10 Pays Où Il Ne Fait Pas Forcément "Bon Vivre" Pour Les Seniors -
102 Batsaikhan, U., 2020. Embracing The Silver Economy | Bruegel. [online] Bruegel.org.
103 Joy, A., 2016. What Is Japan's 'Respect For The Aged Day'?. [online] Culture Trip.
104 Lepetitjournal.com. 2015. SANTE – Le Japon, Pays Où Les Gens Vivent Le Plus Longtemps En
Bonne Santé. [online]
105 Cassandra, C., 2018. La Culture D'entreprise Au Japon. [online] weebly.com.

40
A perspective, leading to having only 3% of Japanese respondents considering that
senior citizens are represented as less independent, as opposed to France, where
25% of the respondents finding themselves represented as such.106
The image of ageing isn’t considered to be inherently bad in Japan. The greying
society is seen as both a challenge and “a massive opportunity for innovation based
on high-quality data and medical research.”107
“Japan has entered the super-aging society sooner than other countries. This is a
positive chance for growth rather than a negative”, Yoshitake Yokokura, Japan
Medical Association’s president.
Japan is identified as a forerunner that should be looked at when considering
developing its economy towards active aging and technological change, hence our
interest for this country specifically.108
Indeed, they are developing rapidly things like home delivery services, adapted
supermarkets, robotics, ... but also things like advertising strategies with actual seniors
appearing in commercials. (i.e. 4.2 Nintendo in Japan)
6.1 Silver Advertising, focus on Japan
In a study performed in 2009109 , it turned out that the seniors were underrepresented
in Japanese commercials too. Women even more so.
Performed on a set of commercials dating to 1997-2007, the main observation was in
the under representation aspect of the elderly in commercials, but also in that the
number of older people used in commercials had increased, and were mainly hired for
commercials in the foods/beverages sector.
So even though researchers have found that Japanese seniors are under-represented
in commercials on TV, this particular study is highlighting the gradual increase in the
number of the seniors featured in advertising, which was also observed in other
countries like France (i.e. 3. France).
An under representation that is appearing as contradicting our first findings, especially
with regards to the respect for the elderly cultural setting. But respect and positive
106 SOPEXA. 2019. Savez-Vous Parler Aux Seniors ?. [online]
107 Contributor, J., 2018. Japan Brandvoice: Why Japan’S Aging Population Is An Investment
Opportunity. [online] Forbes.
108 Les Echos. 2014. Japan Inc, L'archipel Des Seniors. [online]
109 Michael, P., Florian, K., Shigeru, H. And Akie, A., 2009. How Older People Are Represented In
Japanese TV Commercials : A Content Analysis. [Online] Mediacom.Keio.Ac.Jp.

41
opinion are two different concepts, as highlighted in 2008, revealing that even though
the elders are indeed respected, there are still very negative views of the elderly in
Japan, by the younger population.110
The increasing presence of the seniors in advertising previously identified kept
progressing, as an article published in 2019111 underlined the necessity of looking at
Japan as “the laboratory of the world and the place to go and study what is going on
with the silver market in terms of consumer behaviour, marketing strategies,
advertising.”
On the same line, an article from the Echo, published in 2014, was mentioning that
Japan was in advance in many silver economy related services, products and
infrastructures, as well as in the silver advertising field, with seniors appearing more
and more in commercials.112
According to a study performed on the representation of the elderly in advertising in
Japan, in 2008113, it was found that, in a sample of television commercials, a significant
number of seniors were used as actors, regardless of the importance of the role and
the nature of the commercial, of the product or service presented.
In an article published by Cbnews, the Japanese seniors have been identified as not
feeling old when looking at commercials, they mostly feel (70%114 of the respondents)
that they are portrayed as persons of experience, which is positive, and very
representative of Japanese society. Hence, even though they are under-represented,
as opposed to the younger generations, they are mainly satisfied with the
representation that is made of them in commercials, as opposed to France or even
America.
6.2 Nintendo in Japan
Nintendo is a perfect example of a company that understood the stakes of capturing
the senior market, as early as 2006.
At the time, Microsoft and Sony were working on developing new video game consoles,
while Nintendo chose to look at targeting new markets, to reach a larger public. As
their previous main target market, being the younger generations, was shrinking, they
110 Formanek, Susanne. (2008). Traditional Concepts And Images Of Old Age In Japan. 323-343.
10.1163/Ej.9789004154773.I-1199.128.
111 Contagious. 2019. Why And How Brands Must Get To Grips With Ageing Populations. [Online]
112 Les Echos. 2014. Japan Inc, L'archipel Des Seniors. [Online]
113 Prieler, Michael. (2008). Silver Advertising: Elderly People In Japanese TV Ads. 10.1007/978-3-
540-75331-5_18.
[online]

42
had to rethink their strategy with regards to the evolving demography. Less children,
more seniors? Microsoft and Sony chose to fight on the innovation ground, always
coming up with new products, while Nintendo chose to adapt.
In that optic, they chose to look at the seniors, leading us to the Nintendo Wii Fit
commercial, representing an elder in his living room playing/exercising by using the
new Nintendo Wii’s game, designed to help the player in exercising and even
meditating, from his own living room, at his own pace, with personalized settings (age,
weight, …).
Physical appearance: In his 70s, the main actor appears to be well dressed (according
to Japanese standards) and very clean. He is standing with his back straight, and
performs his exercises perfectly, at a comfortable pace.
Psychological state: He seems to be perfectly healthy (while promoting a game
designed for healthy exercising purposes), physically as well as mentally. Calm and
motivated, every movement is measured and nicely executed.
- Actor’s role
The actor’s role is to use the game, exercising. He moves, and even jog (not too slow,
not too fast) and ends up meditating with the game in his pyjamas before bed.
He is the main and only actor of the commercial.
- Verbal content
The verbal content is performed by a voice over, which only describes how to use the
game, making no comment on the age of the actor.
Even though the game can be used by all, they chose an elder as the main actor,
clearly stating their intention to address this market frontally. There were no
stereotypes identified in this advertising, and the focus was on the healthy aspect of
the game, but without clearly stating it. It has no role linked to the grandparent setting,
no mention of his age is made, no reference is made to his diminished five senses, ….
It remains a commercial for a game used to promote having a healthy lifestyle, and
the importance of exercising, so nothing too innovant regarding the use of a senior
actor in advertising, but it is innovant in that the senior actor is alone, rather than placed
in a family context to represent the last generation (and therefore showing that the
game is for all), nor does he seem physically or mentally diminished.

43
6. France Vs Japan
When looking at Sopexa’s work on the matter115, they found that 66% of the Japanese
seniors (here defined as individuals over 65 years old) felt that they are positively
represented in commercials, although 73% of them have declared to feel stereotyped.
71% of them feel like they are represented as experienced individuals, and 45% feel
like they are represented as free and uninhibited.
Positive results in Japan, while on France’s side, more than half of the French
respondents have been found to feel that they are not present enough in
advertisements and feel that commercials are not meeting their expectations. When
the opposite is true in Japan.
Which confirms our initial hypothesis according to which Japan is doing better than
France on this ground.
When comparing those two countries, taking into account the cultural differences is
important in that the way of considering ageing differs greatly.
On one hand we have a country that is all about traditions and respect towards their
elders, and on the other, we have the French (and more generally, the western
cultures).
A cultural dimension that we can observe in the advertising world, and that we identify
as one of the possible factors explaining why Japan is doing better in their advertising
strategy, as opposed to France.
In France, 54% of the seniors believe advertising is not representing them enough,
58% stated that advertising was not answering their needs and 53% are not finding
them appealing.116 Alarming numbers for any marketers, but even more for marketers
in a country aiming to become number 1 in the Silver Economy. Numbers that are also
translating into the fact that advertising didn’t evolve as much as it should have.
Although efforts and change did occur, with brands like Nivea (that launched the “co-
ageing” thinking, which will be developed later in this paper) as opposed to Clinique
(that is more on the “de-ageing” strategy”).117
115 lsa-conso.fr. 2019. Comment Les Seniors Se Sentent Perçus Par Les Marques ?. [online]
[online]
117 Beauty Decoder. 2018. Pensée Positive, Nivea Choisit Monica Bellucci Et Le Co-Ageing : Bien
Vieillir. [online]

44
6.1 Nintendo commercial, in France
As a means of comparison, we took a look at the Nintendo commercial broadcasted
on French television, as opposed to the one that was broadcasted in Japan for the
same product.
What was observed when looking at the commercials for the same product, at the
same period (2006), but in France rather than Japan, is that the equivalent couldn’t be
found.
None of the commercials in French for the Nintendo Wii seem to be featuring seniors
as main actors, or even as actors at all.
In a compilation of over 20 commercials for the Nintendo Wii found on YouTube (from
2019)118, representing over 9 min of screen time, no senior actors appeared.
On the other hand, one advertising from 2012119 is emphasizing on the fact that
everyone can play Wii, as it shows every generation, both westerners and Japanese,
successively. In over two minutes of commercials, seniors appear twice. In both cases,
the senior actors were Japanese.
The first time shows a Japanese senior couple, playing classical music with their
respective Wii stick, smoothly and while smiling, close to each other.
The second one shows a grandfather playing with his little grandson in a fun setting,
where he loses and rolls on his back, while both of the actors are, once again
Japanese.
Neither YouTube, nor the advertising archives from the French INA (National
Audiovisual Institute)120, allowed us to find commercials from the Nintendo Wii Fit
showcasing seniors, in 2006. And the French equivalent of the previously analysed
Nintendo commercial, for the exact same product (Wii Fit), isn’t using any seniors as
actors, but rather, a young family, playing together.
118 YouTube. 2019. La Wii En 20 Pubs. [online]
119 YouTube. 2012. Publicité Nintendo Wii. [online]
120 Ina.fr, I., 2006. Publicité Wii. [online] Ina.fr.

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