Perfume Ads - Seen Any Women Over 40?

When was the last time you saw a perfume ad featuring a woman over 40?  How about over 50?

Thinking about this pisses me off, so I try not to do it very often.  

Still, if I see one more perfume ad featuring a maybe-21-year-old as the targeted audience (even Shalimar, for chrissake!), I may have a hot flash or something.  

Equally annoying is the army of perfume houses that proudly advertise their new gentle floral perfume with light woods and precious musk.  

To target the 21-year-old audience.

This makes me laugh.  Maniacally. 

Really?  A gentle floral blend?  Wow, who would ever have thought of that?  I mean, just because there are hundreds of banal new perfume releases with the same description?  How fucking original!

See?  This is why I try not to think about it.

Okay, let's get practical. 

Women in their 40's and 50's, and beyond, wield power in the world.  We are leaders in organizations, we are politically astute and some of us have raised children, which teaches you a helluva lot about life.

Plus - um, duh - we have more purchasing power.

So how about a little balance?

Go ahead and keep churning out the gentle floral with the musky drydown for the young, female audience.

Knock yourself out. 

But, while you're at it, consider the seasoned audience that might actually appreciate the perfume brief that you're afraid won't sell because it's 'out of step' with 
the market.  

After all, many of us have lived, and thrived, well beyond our twenties.  We aren't afraid to say the wrong thing, eat great cheese, upset the status quo or wear interesting perfume.

Or laugh maniacally.

Feature those women in your ads.  We're out here waiting for the good stuff.

Photos from buzberry.com and stylefrizz.com