55 Isn’t Old: But Your Creative Might Be
The numbers should make every marketer sit up and pull out their Parker pen. As mentioned in our previous Silver Pound pieces, over-50s control £320 billion in spending power and are responsible for half of all UK consumer spend. As ever though, most brands are still chasing the shiny, enchanting nonchalance of Gen Z – all while treating this demographic as an afterthought. And when you do see ‘older people’ in ads, what do you get? 55 through to 85 are homogenised into a big knitting square of ‘OLD’: pearled with large serifs, a slightly sepia tone, and a tone of voice saccharine enough to bore anyone into an early grave. As a result, huge swathes are ignored, others are misrepresented, and the rest get served a beige dystopia that doesn’t match their actual lives.
It’s not just lazy. Frankly, it’s bad business, when you consider the spending power. And it’s why creative work that speaks authentically to this audience doesn’t just stand out, it pays off – literally. Here’s how to retire the stereotypes, and make creative that will really resonate with your audience.
1.Bin the boring clichés
Leave sepia-toned stereotypes to Saga. Today’s over-55s are CEOs, side-hustlers, adventurers, and explorers – hardly sipping Horlicks at 9pm. Campaigns need to reflect that diversity of ambition and lifestyle. Elle Sera’s gleaming gold branding and provocative copy for menopause supplements nailed it. In fact, rather than calling it a menopause supplement, even just the name change of “The empowerment pill” and leading with the cues of luxury beauty instantly elevated them above their competitors, rather than apologetic mauve-washing and hand-wringing usually associated with “women’s health.”
2.Get older voices in the room
Representation behind the camera is just as important as on it. One of the many reason’s JD Williams’ “Admit it, this age thing suits you” campaign worked is because the creative team wasn’t made up of 20-somethings, guessing what this time of life would be like. The majority of the team were over 35, bringing lived experience and sharper insight to the script and the shoot. Age diversity (as with all diversity) fuels creative truth: and audiences can tell the difference.
3.Think life stages, not numbers
A single age bracket can’t possibly capture the diversity of experience. A 55-year-old might be retraining, launching a business, or ticking off an adventure bucket list, while an 85-year-old could be navigating very different priorities. The smart move? Speak to life stages, rather than age. That’s why Ladder’s life insurance ads landed so well. They leaned into universal moments and anxieties, and flipped them with humour, making an often dull or scary product feel relatable and human, not depressing and clinical.
4.Tone of voice: banter beats beige
Humour is a powerful bias-buster. Take Tena Men’s “Keep Control” campaign. This didn’t shy away from bladder weakness, but instead handled this delicate issue with wit and confidence, not shame or whispers. The lesson? Joy, irreverence, and positivity don’t just overturn stereotypes: they demand attention.
5.Design for clarity and energy
Legibility doesn’t have to mean lifeless. Too much creative aimed at older audiences is wrapped in “safe” fonts, timid layouts, and washed-out colourways. But bold type, colour, and modern design are both inclusive and exciting. Age UK’s “Let’s change how we age” wasn’t just a bold idea – it used compelling photography and standout design to show ageing as powerful, not passive.
Ultimately, the over-55 audience isn’t a niche, or a nice-to-have: it’s the most powerful spending group in the UK. Ignore them, and you’re leaving money on the table. Misrepresent them, and your brand feels out of touch. But get it right with compelling design, humour, and lived experience and you won’t just capture attention. You’ll create work that reshapes how we all think about ageing.
