The Long-Lasting Effects of “Age Marketing” on Girls

When I was seven years old, I would take my mother’s container of Oil of Olay cream and walk around the house while applying some of the cream to my face. When my parents (or other relatives) would ask what on earth I was doing, I would reply, “I’m trying to look five again.”

The advertising campaign at the time (early 1980s) promoted the fact that using Oil of Olay would help a woman look years younger. I think the actual campaign said something to the effect that it could make someone in her forties look thirty again. I knew this and was trying to make my family laugh. But when I think back about this scenario, I’m surprised that already at age seven, an advertisement could impact how I viewed aging and the negative connotation that was attached to it.

All of this came back to me as I clipped coupons with my daughter this past weekend. I saw a print ad for a new Oil of Olay product called Oil of Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Body Wash. “Wow,” I thought. “A body wash that fights aging?” In the last couple of decades we have gone from simply trying to prevent or reduce the number of wrinkles on our faces to trying to stop the effects of aging on our entire bodies.

I visited Procter and Gambles’ Oil of Olay web site and read about this age-defying body wash. The description calls for “soft, smooth skin in 1 shower, improved elasticity in 1 week, and young-looking, radiant skin in 1 month.” It claims to do this by tackling seven skin issues associated with aging:

1. Improves elasticity
2. Relieves dryness
3. Deeply moisturizes
4. Brightens dull skin
5. Evens skin tone
6. Smoothes rough skin
7. Minimizes the appearance of dry lines

Sounds good. I like well-moisturized skin. I haven’t exactly been thrilled with the onset of wrinkles around my eyes. But doesn’t this product and others like it simply add to the complexity of body image issues facing girls today? According to the media and images in magazines, we women are all supposed to be skinny, pretty, flawless and ageless—that’s nothing new really. I knew that at age seven. But now our entire body is supposed to look young as long as possible. The marketing behind this Oil of Olay body wash is preying upon our fears: if any part of us looks old, we have failed in some way. Who would want someone with old-looking skin? We would be rather worthless then, wouldn’t we? But buy this body wash and help every inch of you to look as young as possible. Take note, girls: you’d better try to stay young forever or you just might not have any value whatsoever.

I also learned by visiting the Olay web site that the number of products under their category of “Anti-Aging” is staggering: lotions, firming creams, wrinkle repairs, treatments, serums, therapies, even a group of products they call an “Anti-Aging Starter Protocol.” All in all there are 85 Olay products classified as “anti-aging.” It’s dizzying.

I realize that looking young and wanting to be young is nothing new. It just seems that nowadays, it’s nearly out-of-control. Men are also targeted for anti-aging products (such as hair coloring, or even wrinkle/line treatments), but not on the same scale as women are. As a girl, by seeing these ads, I learned that aging was negative. It was something to dread, something to fight and hold at bay for as long as possible. However, for today’s girls, the impact is magnified. But what does it really mean to have wrinkles and gray hair? In some cultures, it means wisdom, respect and seniority. In our culture, it means its time either to do something drastic to reverse the effects or to risk being devalued.

I hope I can encourage my daughter to love herself and the way she looks at every age, exactly how she is naturally. Real beauty doesn’t come in a container. It’s self-contained. I hope we all can see through the marketing messages and realize just that and teach that to our daughters by opening up discussions with them about this and leading by example.

If you have a related story of your own to share, I’d love to hear it! Just leave a comment here. I hope to share readers’ stories and experiences on such subjects in the weeks to come.