When Sarah Baker, creative director at stationery company Intelligent Change, posted a recent TikTok predicting that age representation in advertising would become “table stakes” in the next few years, she didn’t expect it to gain traction. But it did, racking up more than 100,000 views and 24,000 likes.
“I was just floored by how many women were speaking out and saying, ‘I agree. And I want that too,’” she told Marketing Brew.
Baker, who is in her 30s, said she felt inspired to speak out after noticing how few women her age were appearing in ads, telling us she feels “almost like the time that I’m relevant as a human in this world is ticking in terms of what media and advertising is projecting back at me.”
An analysis of 2019 Cannes Lions ads by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that only 7% of the characters were older than 60, and men outnumbered women two to one across all age groups. But that could be changing as more women—like Baker—speak out and are in decision-making positions in advertising, she explained.
No longer invisible
In her work with modeling and talent agencies over the last few years, Baker said she’s noticed a slow but visible shift toward hiring diverse talent, including women of different ages. She attributes the rise, in part, to seeing more women in creative leadership roles. She said it’s exciting not just for representation, but also because it’s increasing the opportunities available for older models and talent.
But some women haven’t been waiting around for the modeling industry to catch up. Baker named Lyn Slater (@iconaccidental), Grece Ghanem, Roslyn Griner, and photographer Ari Seth Cohen (@advancedstyle) as some of her favorite influencers promoting age diversity in fashion and beauty.
Editorial and advertising images from brands like Redken, Missoni, Ilia Beauty, and 19/99 Beauty are shown in Baker’s TikTok. Other brands, like Baiia and Summersalt, feature women of all ages in their social media posts. Recently, model Paulina Porizkova has been open about the reality of aging, filming an ad with Laura Geller Beauty called “Let’s Get Old Together,” where she asserts, “Sure, I’m getting older. And I’m the best I’ve ever been.”
But she doesn’t think older women have anything to prove, pushing back on the idea of “aging gracefully” that often comes with campaigns starring older women. “When brands feature an older model or an older woman, and they talk about it ‘gracefully,’ I find it odd,” she said. “It’s like, why do we have to feature someone that’s older and talk about or reference them being older?”
Taking age out of the equation
Camille Katona and Stephanie Spence, founders of 19/99 Beauty, agree. They told Marketing Brew that for them, the ultimate goal is to remove age from the conversation altogether. In other words, it’s less about age positivity and more about age neutrality.
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“That would be really amazing for us to get to a place where age is no longer interesting and it’s not a defining factor,” Spence told Marketing Brew.
The name 19/99 Beauty indicates that the brand is for anyone ages 19–99 years old. Katona said one reason they wanted to create an age-inclusive beauty brand was to show women that they aren’t invisible past a certain age and to destigmatize growing older for those worried about it.
The other reason was to show customers that they could embrace colorful, creative makeup at any age. “That’s been celebrated for younger people, like playing with makeup and [their] identity,” she said. “Whereas older people, you’re meant to be a bit more quiet in your presentation.”
When it comes to marketing, Katona said the brand isn’t “prescriptive” in its approach to age inclusivity. “If we base representation on numbers, it starts to feel like tokenism,” she explained, although she said that 19/99 tries “to lead campaigns with someone over 50, and then build the rest out from there.”
She said the brand has been able to reach women over 50 via Facebook and Instagram ads, as well as print media. According to Katona, more than 50% of its customers are older than 35, and more than 30% are over 45.
Spence said they’ve already seen the impact of their marketing, with women telling them they bought products like 19/99’s blue eyeliner once they saw others of the same age wearing it. “They hadn’t [used blue eyeliner] in like 15–20 years because they thought they had grown out of it,” she said. “They were so excited to have it back.”
In one 19/99 brand image, a woman in her 50s, with matching hot-pink eyeshadow and lipstick, stares off into the distance. Spence said the image is hanging in her boyfriend’s 12-year-old daughter’s room and has gotten praise from her friends.
“They’re not seeing these barriers that maybe we would have seen like 10 years ago,” she said.