Independent India is a senior citizen. It has been through its share of ups and downs, seen times change and has tried to adapt itself to changing times, and today, looks at the world around her with a wise pair of eyes.
But how well has Indian advertising captured senior citizens in the past 75 years? The generation that literally built India, is often underrepresented in advertising, media and pop culture.
Yet, there are a few memorable ads featuring senior characters that have enthralled and entertained us in the past few decades.
Twenty-six years ago, when we saw postman “Ramu Kaka” lure an adorable and slightly vexed Parzaan Dastur with some hot jalebis back home from a train station, it instantly brought a smile to our face. An entire nation showered love on the cherubic Dastur, but also on the elderly postman who brought the truant boy home.
In the same year, Amul released its delightfully peppy Doodh Hai Wonderful ad, showcasing in one of the many frames, an old Parsi couple dancing.
Earlier in the 90s, ad guru Piyush Pandey brought to screen another senior character – who had nothing in common with Ramu Kaka. He was cranky, angry and frustrated with his failed efforts at hooking a fish in the iconic Fevikwik ad.
Around the same time, Raymond’s memorable “Don’t go” ad, featuring a school teacher who was retiring, majorly tugged at the heartstrings.
Seniors have often been used to augment the emotional quotient (EQ) in narratives, and in some cases, like Fevikwik, inject humour.
Indian advertising in the 90s was able to carve out distinct and memorable senior characters that are fondly remembered even today.
In the next decade too, seniors brightened up the screen with their charm and chutzpah.
Piyush Pandey’s brilliant ad for SBI Life Insurance, “Heere ko Kya Paata Tumhari Umar Kya Hai” done 11 years ago, directed by his brother Prasoon Pandey, and featuring a real-life married couple, is perhaps one of the most memorable ads featuring a senior couple.
The ad, inspired by something that Piyush’s mother had said after being gifted a pair of diamond studs, was a refreshing Valentine’s Day campaign.
Most of us still remember the adorable daadi in British Airway’s #FuelledByLove ad in the following decade (2016), that made the campaign trend on Twitter. It was a relatable character and won many hearts.
In recent times, a handful of brands are actively making senior citizens a part of their narratives and portraying them in a fresh new light. Thomas Cook’s #NeverTooOld which talks about senior citizens making international travel plans, the Tanishq ad for Ganesh Chaturthi (2020) featuring a bunch of senior citizens surprising their “vighnaharta” with a Tanishq pendant and the delightful Vodafone ad in 2017 featuring an old couple using GPS to find their way around Goa, are great examples of brands getting their tonality and communication right when it comes to portraying and talking to the baby boomer generation.
It’s going to be almost a decade since Google released its Reunion ad, featuring long lost friends, who get reunited across borders, all thanks to Google search. Nurturing Indo-Pak peace sentiments, the ad went viral and made many teary-eyed when childhood friends Yusuf and Baldev got together after being separated during the partition decades ago.
Brands today are depicting seniors as a fun, irreverent, independent and confident bunch with an envious sense of humour, who are in charge of their destiny.
Whether it’s the recent CarDekho “E for Elderly” campaign that had an adorable elderly couple using sarcasm to call out road aggression against elderly drivers, or a buoyant Neena Gupta doing her version of a hip hop in the Brooke Bond Red Label #LetUsUnstereotypeIndia campaign, advertising depicting seniors today really is all about shattering stereotypes related to ageing and the elderly.
Featuring senior citizens makes a brand seem more inclusive with a wider target audience. It adds a layer to the narrative, texture to the overall message and wholesomeness to a brand’s personality.
It’s why the Pond’s Cold Cream “Dadu” ad done last year by Ogilvy Mumbai garnered many views and why some of us still remember Help Age India’s “daadi” ad from 2016 that told children of the elderly that it was their time to look after their parents.
However, in a country where senior citizens are the fastest growing demographic and comprises one fourth of the total senior citizen population in the world, there should be more robust and relevant representation of the silver generation in advertising. The silver economy in India is fuelled by a generation of senior citizens that are very different from their predecessors, with a taste for the good life and financial independence. How else are consumer brands looking to tap into this 73,082 crore rupees economy?
Article is authored by Piali Dasgupta, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Columbia Pacific Communities.
