It may not be the most traditional of campaigns in hidebound Japan, but it certainly makes its point. Earlier this year, Nissan opted to target its sports coupe range at new retirees, a group of people who have rarely attracted much attention from Japan’s aspirational brands.
The campaign reflects a significant change in the way that Japanese people view ageing, a shift that is borne out by new research from McCann Erickson. Entitled ‘Getting old isn’t that bad’, the report suggests that people are now less inclined to resist the process of aging, in some cases actively desiring the maturity and refined manner that they believe only comes with advanced years.
“In the past, ageing meant weakening,” says Dave McCaughan, McCann Worldgroup’s Asia Pacific regional strategic planning director. “That was the norm in people’s thinking. But nowadays, rather than not wanting to age, people support the concept of aging positively.” Almost 80 per cent of those surveyed expressed a desire to maintain attractiveness while getting old.
Indeed, the results indicated that women are considered most attractive at 31, while men reach their peak at 37. The average age of popular celebrities has increased by almost five years on the past decade. The most popular, Sanma Akashiya and Hitomi Kuroki, are aged 51 and 46 respectively. Sayings such as ‘Christmas cake on the 25th’ (referring to the traditional view that a woman’s worth deteriorates upon reaching 25, in the same way as a Christmas cake on Christmas Day) are now obsolete, McCaughan says.
What has prompted such a shift in thinking in a country that has traditionally placed such emphasis on newness and youth? The fact that the majority of adults are now over 50 is probably key. “Values in a country are often influenced by the thinking of the generations that account for the majority of the population in that country,” McCaughan explains.
With the en masse retirement having been at the forefront of media discussion for so long, he notes that “negative feelings toward aging are decreasing and people increasingly support the elegance, character and intelligence of adults”. Consequently, says Grey Japan president Chris Beaumont, marketers must avoid the past model “which has tended only to emphasise the negatives of ageing” and think more about “ageless marketing”.
According to the report, the older Japanese consumer today has a wider array of brands to choose from. In a country where Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags have become de rigeur for schoolgirls, a majority now perceives such high-end brands as unfit for young people and more suitable for “mature people with a distinctive character, who are worthy of (the brands’) value”. At the same time, brands such as Swatch, Uniqlo and Gap are shedding their image as being exclusively for the young.
Beaumont adds that people are retiring grudgingly, and are reluctant to fit the traditional model of being retired. “They are active, relatively healthy and certainly have much of the wealth in Japan,” he says. “Also, compared with previous generations, they are less obligated to save money to pass on to their children.”
McCaughan also notes that although the majority of people want to age gracefully, over 90 per cent feel that they are not.
“That means they are asking themselves the question: How can I age with style? By creating demand for each generation to age attractively and by offering them guidelines, we believe that there are increasing opportunities for brands, products and services to realise their desires.”
