Apt. 64 W11

Everyday I see more vibrant and very active 60+ years old neighbors and colleagues, who may not have the choice of retirement soon enough. Yet, they tackle their extended tenures with both ease and gusto.  This is particularly evident to me among women, who appear recharged as men slow down. I don’t know if it is particularly evident to brands like AARP, who seem to be challenged by the rejuvenation of this consumer. It is safe to say that we began seeing the signs in popular culture many years ago.

I became a man watching The Golden Girls when it originally aired. We may have not known at the time, but the “girls” may have kick started the rejuvenation of women over 60 in America.  At least the attitude was there. This is a very special diversity group who some dare call cougars and MILFs. These lame terms are wrongly used to describe the rebirth of a powerful being. I actually believe that strong women like them who seize life are to be celebrated. They are sharing with us a collective experience and wisdom that you can’t find in books. Never again left behind sitting on the sofa wearing a housedress (as many grandmas did until then), women over 60 increasingly emerge strong to become social, corporate and family leaders. I love them.

Rue McClanahan recently died. She is the third of the GGs to leave us. We still have the vivacious and triumphant Betty White with us. We have celebrated her plenty this year. It’s Rue’s turn. She, more than any of the other girls, was at the heart of this new attitude. Blanche, the character, claimed to be in her 40s, but we all knew she was way pass her 50s. Which made her daily antics so much powerful: The visits to Rusty Anchor bar to pick up gentlemen callers, holiday cards featuring semi naked pictures of her, and the already infamous Big Ships of the Navy calendar are some of many examples of her 20 something attitude.  

Today so many women of Blanche’s age are confident all over. Their strong voices influence consumer behavior. No longer “background grandmas”, they are both independent but also integrated into their kid’s nuclear family.  The Blanches of the today have strong bonds with their grandkids becoming role models for them (sometimes more than the mothers themselves). I came across a study that suggested targeting grandmas when trying to engage young kids. They are decision makers for the family at retail.  The lessened generation gap between her, her daughter and her grandkid is a big factor.

Blanche called herself Water Lily. This was most interesting writing. Water lilies are not only beautiful and strong; they are also lacking in endosperm but have plenty of perisperm: the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. Water lilies are of the Nymphaeaceae family.

They are appropriately named after the nymphs in Greek mythology. A nymph is a female spirit typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different varieties of water lilies come from a different part of the world: Gulf of Mexico, Sri Lanka, Japan, Brazil, etc. Today Helen Mirren, Hilary Clinton, Iman define what a water lily is. Free to be in tune with herself and the needs of the world at large, her responsibilities have evolved and shifted. They have reached a stage in life when their leadership is not only wisest among all, but full of the right energy.  They are not sitcom characters or archetypes like Blanche.  They are fully evolved water lilies leading the charge in their respective areas. 

Think also about the not-so-famous and small town resident Kathleen Collins: A widow from Colorado who single handedly is teaching communities across the western U.S. states how to transform loss into strength and use it to change the world around them. From a practical perspective she is igniting confidence among entire groups of consumers. For me that’s as important as Hilary’s diplomatic mission. So let’s go back to the original water lily.

What I love most about the fact that Blanche called herself Water Lily is that these plants never die, unless their environment dies (hint: BP). Instead they go dormant and later emerged stronger.

This is my tribute to Rue, but also my tribute to the millions of Golden Women who make our world better today. They are an important influencer consumer group.  Pay attention to them. (AARP has major rebranding ahead of them.) Celebrate them. They have a lot to say and still tons to do for us.