On mature directions…Colm Carey says targeting the over-50s is a matter of psychology vs chronology

In his 66th year actor Jack Nicholson came out a noteworthy comment by saying that: "Our generation are the new old. I remember how someone of 60 behaved when I was a kid. They were not like me". Nicholson probably sums up how most people aged between 50 and 70 see themselves today. But a trawl through how marketing treats the over-50s suggests not everybody agrees with Nicholson's sentiments.

Press & Poster Campaign for Abbey Financial services MONEY TALK: A press and poster campaign for Abbey financial services in Britain where the client brief to agency TBWA was to help people of all ages get more engaged with their money. The body copy read: "We're for the bored rigid. We're for the confused, the frightened, the ignored, the sceptical, the freaked out and the fed up. We're for the ones who refuse to be pigeon-holed. We're for clarity, openness and a straightforward chat." The campaign's closing line read: "We're here for you."

In our youth-obsessed culture, being over 50 is seen as something that should be pitied. Worse still is to look or act like you are over 50, easing off the gas and taking life a wee bit easier. What used to be called the grey market is now the blonde market.

There is a big no man's land between 40 and 70 as far as marketing is concerned. One minute you are still rocking as in rock 'n' roll and the next you are rocking as in a chair, swinging softly to and fro. The period in between has almost been written out of the marketing lexicon. We either sell you something to help you be more attractive to your chosen gender preference or something to ease you into your dotage.

Many over-50s experience affluence due to maturing investments, private pensions and low financial commitments. Happy days! They might go driving around in newer cars, refurbish the home, go on more leisure breaks and buy premium-priced labour saving devices for use around the home and garden.

If they dressed stylishly in the past, they are likely to continue doing so but the type of clothes bought may change as they downshift to a less formal lifestyle. Many marketers for some reason seem to view this age group as far less attractive than their younger less cash rich counterparts. This might in part be explained by the fact that frontline marketing tends to be the domain of the under 40s.

A study by Barak and Gould provides evidence that there exists a large group of cognitively young people who act younger than their chronological age might lead us to expect. On the other hand, we all know people who are "cognitively old" despite being in their 20s and many of whom never seem to get any "older".

People carry their attitudes and beliefs throughout their lives. If you were a miserable git when you were 20, chances are you will probably be a miserable git at 60. Cognitively young people have higher morale and self-confidence. They are more outgoing and have contact with a wider variety of media than others of their age. They are more socially mobile, risk positive and opinion leading amongst their peers.

Advertising which communicates with the cognitively old will ultimately fail to maximise the potential of the over 50's market because it is targeting a group of people who do not have the skills to change, who are negative in their thinking and who have no opinion-leading value in the marketplace.

In short, nobody wants to be like them any more than anybody aspires to be like a negative thinking 25-year-old. But 25-year-olds are never portrayed that way. Over 50s are not often used in advertising for general mainstream products of which they, as well as younger people, are mainstream consumers.

This leads to a situation where the use of over 50s in advertising campaigns has the affect of communicating that a product is targeted exclusively at them, often in a ghettoised manner. The use of over 50s in advertising can lend some positive values.

These people are perceived as having been around the block and as less easily impressed by slick sales patter and the many fads which regularly raise their heads. They are powerful influencers in the motor, finance and property sectors.

We often fail to empathise with them. We treat them as vague and uninteresting. We emphasise the negative aspects of aging, rather than the positive aspects of experience. Even when we try to be positive, we end up being patronising.

The cognitively young require a dynamic approach that emphasises growth, new opportunities and optimism. The cognitively old require an approach that reassures; emphasising familiarity, security and low risk.

This approach demands a twin-track strategy based on the psychological make up of the target consumer rather than an approach based solely, or even primarily, on chronological age. So maybe we could take a leaf from Jack Nicholson's book and look at people the way they are, rather than as we think of them.

That way they might actually listen.

Colm Carey, director of The Research Centre, is a psychologist and qualitative researcher