Just as the British department store John Lewis, used the German supermarket chain EDEKA his Christmas commercial to send a message to the world. 'Make time in your busy life for the people who are important to you and whom you love. Especially now'.
This message is catching on. Through social media is the commercial very often shared. By now this ad has almost two million views on YouTube.
Let's not only share the message, but also put our money where our mouth is.
The oldest employee at Google, yet one of the largest companies in the world, is over the age of eighty. Age is irrelevant to Google. According to Google, an applicant will be assessed solely on his knowledge and experience. At IDEO, another high-tech company in Silicon Valley, the oldest employee is a woman of 91 years. She provides the company a lot of knowledge and insights that can not be supplied by younger colleagues. It's regrettable that not all companies recognize this value of older people. Last month I saw a Dutch TV program about unemployment among over 50s, which made me sad. I often think about it. What's the case? 25% of the unemployed in the EU is over 50,but in the Netherlands it's even 40%. The program shows that this high percentage is due to the negative image of older people. Many employers think that older workers are slower, less productive and more often sick than their younger colleagues.The title of the TV program was therefore '10 youngsters instead of you', because - based on those prejudices - employers prefer to hire young people. The prejudices of employers are firmly debunked by the TV program. Statistics show that older workers are certainly not more often sick than their younger colleagues. Research also shows that older workers become even more productive.The persistent misperception, however, ensures that the prejudices persist. It's an image that.s originated in times gone by. But society has changed significantly and the people over 50 has changed with it. That realization didn't yet reach all employers and human resource managers. That's such a shame. Companies can and should - like Google en IDEO - make a better use of the knowledge, experience and insights of older workers. The average age is rising and we retire later. Yet companies do not adapt to these developments because they are stuck in their own prejudices. This makes that fun, energetic and capable people over 50 do not find a job. It should work the other way around. I recently heard the following quote from writer/actress Annabelle Gurwitch (54), who chose for a different approach. She mentions her age clearly visible on her business card for the following reason: 'When I see a restaurant that's in business for more than half a century, I think: Wow, that restaurant must be good! Why should this be different for employees?' She nailed it! The over 50s has changed... now it's time for employers to do the same! Photo: Annabelle Gurwitch by Jason Frank Rothenberg
A picture is worth a thousand words. Of course, menare aging as well. And the president of the United States seems to go even more quickly through this process. Here you see POTUS at the beginning of his first term and now (almost) at the end of his second term. The responsibility of the presidency is obviously taking its toll.
Below you can also see his predecessors before and after their stay in the White House.
Fortunately, the First Lady continues to look radiant.
This interesting conclusion comes from the King's College team after a study of ten years. During that time this team tracked the health of 150 female twins in the age of 43 to 73 years. That's how they discovered that generally the aging process had less impact on the brain of the twin sister with the strongest legs, whereby her memory and other mental processesfunctioned better.
The researchers found a logical explanation for this phenomenon. You will develop strong muscles by sufficient physical activity. The sister with the strongest legs, is more physically active than her twin. Sufficient exercise is an important condition to keep your brains healthy. An active lifestyle doesn't only keep your body in shape, but also your brains.
The researchers indicate that more study is needed, but again it's proven that adequate exercise helps against the (further) development of dementia.
Lauren Hutton by Nico - Harper’s Bazaar Spain - May 2013
We have to be able to grow up.
Our wrinkles are our medals of the passage of life.
They are what we have been through and who we want to be.
I don't think I will ever cut my face, because once I cut it, I'll never know where I've been.
- Lauren Hutton -
Today Lauren Hutton is celebrating her 72nd birthday. So that's a good opportunity to put her here in the limelight. Lauren already acquired fame in the 60's as a model. She quickly became a sought-after model and Lauren is now even the model that has most often graced the cover of Vogue.Besides her successful modeling career Hutton also succeeded to build a career as a film actress. One of her best known roles is her role in An American Gigolo (1980) with Richard Gere.
As a young model Lauren was a dazzling beauty, and now on her 72nd birthday she still is. Her charm is that she exactly knows what suits her, that she does what she likes and above all it seems that she is not desperately trying to maintain her earlier appearance. That makes her a timeless beauty.
In these violent days filled with terror, love is the best response. That's why I chose a topic today with which we can spread the love.
The British department store John Lewis makes every year beautiful Christmas commercials. The one cuter than the other. Like the Brits, I lookevery year forward to it. The newest John Lewis commercial is released only a week ago and now been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube. This year they chose a different approach. No cute little animals, but an old lonely man on the moon and a young girl are playing the lead roles. The message is: 'Show someone they're loved this Christmas.'
A well-chosen theme which is also in the Netherlands, unfortunately, very actual.
Six more weeks until Christmas. So six weeks to think about who do you want to show
On this blog I wrote before that marketers seem to forget consumers who are over fifty as an important target group or that they depict this group as pathetic geriatric patients. The energetic senior, whom I see everywhere, is seriously under-represented in the media and advertising. At Sarah's secrets unveiledyou saw some foreign campaigns in which the elderly were respectfully displayed, but never a Dutch one.
So it's good to see that occasionally there's a typical Dutch brand that pops up which wants to do it in a different way. Beemster, known for its typical Dutch cheeses, is such a brand. With the slogan '#LongLiveOld' they chose for a different approach.
Beemster claims that their cheese is 'natural ripened'. Therefore contains their cheese much more flavor and character and and thus the link is made to the aging human being. In addition Beemster shows us 'ripe' people bursting with energy. How refreshing.
That the slogan #LongLiveOld includes a hashtag, is probably not accidental. The average senior really knows - in contrast to what's generally believed - how to deal with computers, phones and social media. So even with hashtags.
This makes me hungry for more... and I must say, not only for the cheese.
I keep hoping that other brands are able to find the way to the older target group quickly. For (old) cheese is this link perhaps very obvious. But also for other products there's here a great challenge and a great market. A large attractive target group, which has money to spend A large attractive target group, which has money to spend and which is certainly not pitiful. Isn't it stupid to ignore that?
But right now I'm just happy with Beemster. #SayCheese!
Translation from the Dutch text in the ad
It's so good to be young,
but may we not be old?
Old has had time to
become wiser, richer, more beautiful and courageous.
There are only a few people who have such a consistent and timeless style like Emmanuelle Alt (48). The editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris has a "signature style" that suits her perfectly.
The Dutch artist Frans Hofmeestersaw that the face of his daughter Lotte was rapidly changing when she was just a baby. He decided to capture the changes on film. Lotte's evolution from baby to a 16-year-old adolescent can you find below. This time lapse of several minutes has already millions of views on YouTube.
The time-lapse video of Lotte was even used for the development of age progession software. This software that can simulate the aging process, is used in the detection of long-term missing persons.
Below you see an example of a time lapse that's created with this software:
The artist Bart Hess made another special timelapse. In two minutes he shows his artistic interpretation of the aging process of the human body between the eighteenth and the eightieth birthday.
Now that the days are shorter and the sun is less strong than in the summer, you easily forget that the sun still has a harmful effect on your skin. The use of sunscreen is still very important. Even in the winter.
These are all facts that I actually know. But today I had a wake up call by an article of the Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF) in New York. They point out that there's a part of your body that is repeatedly exposed to the sun, as much like the face, but where we often forget to apply sunscreen... the hands.
Oops!
That's true. My face I will never forget. On sunny days, I will never skip my shoulders, arms and legs. But my hands? I never thought about them. It seemed sufficient to me to take care of my hands by moisturizing them regularly with a hand cream. Nevertheless the dermatologists of the SCF gave the advise to protect your hands several times a day with a good, moisturizing sunscreen. Preferably as a replacement for your ordinary hand cream. This will prevent wrinkly hands and brown spots more effective and you are better protected against skin cancer.
The right sunscreen for your hand conforms to the following requirements. It contains:
at least SPF 15
nourishing and moisturizing elements such as lanolin and glycerin
UVA filters such as stabilized avobenzone, ecamsule (or MexorylTM), oxybenzone, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide
It is even better if your cream contains the following ingredients:
anti-aging ingredients: such as lactic acid (AHA or alpha hydroxy acid)
antioxidants that can prevent damage of the cells, such as vitamin C or E
Do not forget your nails. For it is precisely under the nails where an aggressive form of skin cancer can develop well.
- 'I no longer have patience for certain things. Not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.' -
The fall/winter 2015 collection of the young brandCharlotte Simoneis in the commercial below shown by rebellious models. These particular models are slightly older than the usual target group of the brand. I like it. Watch the video here:
