From being shown as miserable and dependent family members to independent, high-spirited and living larger than life, the depiction and usage of senior citizens in content have come a long way. Gone are the days where the old were shown as cranky, old next-door uncles, or the conservative aunties who frown upon high hemlines.
It is not only the brands that have increased the usage of elders in long-form content narratives; there is also a growing trend of the rise in senior citizen influencers and content creators. Instagram keeps buzzing with branded content posts by people such as Neena Gupta, Ravi Bala, Anupam Kher, Dinesh Mohan, Poonam Sapra (Mother with a sign) and others.
They are as appealing as the younger generation of influencers to consumers on social media. The influencers are known for their pushback against ageism and for continuing to pursue their passion despite the number of candles on their cake. There is also a growing trend of brands collaborating with them to engage with the younger audience on social media.
For Senior Citizens Day, Nobel Hygiene’s Friends Adult Diapers launched Reel campaign #AzadiMubarak with senior influencers Ravi Bala Sharma (Aka Dancing Dadi), Manjari Varde (Aka Sassy Sau), Tripat Singh and Dinesh Mohan, on August 21 to spread awareness on incontinence and how the use of diapers can gift ‘azadi’ (freedom) to those suffering from it.
/buzzincontent-1/media/post_attachments/a3a6dae63328c9dc560c78c4e17768a0e7a61fe435c81c8e6c6138994ac6bd02.jpg "publive-image")
Kartik Johari
Talking about the objective of the campaign, Kartik Johari, Vice-President, Nobel Hygiene, said, “We specifically wished to create a conversation around the topic and urge more digital netizens to go and have this conversation with their seniors at home as well. We have ads playing on mainline TV, but with this campaign, we wanted to reach a different, younger audience.”
Each of these senior influencers released four 45-59 second reels, where they spoke about how they have not let age hold them back from pursuing their dreams and so problems such as incontinence should not stop other seniors as well.
They urged people to speak to their grandparents and parents about combatting incontinence, wearing diapers, getting over the stigma and continuing to live life well. In these Reels, they also mentioned how Friends Adult Diapers has been making conversation in this zone and helping seniors reclaim their freedom for two decades.
Tripat Singh’s Reel:
Manjari Varde’s Reel:
Ravi Bala’s Reel:
Dinesh Mohan’s Reel:
In the Reels, these senior influencers asked their viewers to comment on the reels with their own experiences/reviews of how their conversations with the elders at home went. Friends then reposted the content on their page and re-circulated the posts through WhatsApp.
The brand hasn’t done much influencer marketing in the past. Explaining the reason behind this, Johari said, “We are not the strongest proponents of influencer marketing, because most of the categories that we deal in are highly taboo. We are very selective about the influencer marketing we do. We are comfortable with content creation on our own, at our own pace.”
According to the data provided by the content marketing agency Sheeko, through the campaign, the brand reached over 90K audience on the internet in a media value pegged between Rs 3-4 lakh.
Below is the table that mentions the individual influencer’s reach and engagement.
The Sheeko graph mentioned below shows that the brand did another influencer-led campaign last year in December, which was led by category A influencers and celebrities. Friends Adult Diapers have ensured to use two males and two females influencers for this campaign, keeping in mind the gender equality ratio and targeting both males and females.
There is a stereotype that because seniors aren’t very tech-savvy, it becomes difficult to work with them to create digital content on Instagram. But Johari rubbished the notion. He said, “I think we need to get over this block in our minds that it is somehow difficult or more cumbersome or more challenging to work with seniors. Frankly speaking, they bring a level of maturity, which we wish all younger influencers also had.”
Not just these influencers have a following in the younger generation but also among people in the age group of 45-60. Johari said an influencer's age doesn’t matter when it comes to content consumption on Instagram and there are takers of any positive content on the platform. He said, “Thankfully content is clear of age, gender, colour, etc. If a person is on social media, they are confident and they have a positive message, there are takers.”
He said that a lot of the followers of silver influencers are also Gen Z or people of a younger generation. Giving a cultural insight, Johari commented, “Someone who has followed the seniors obviously shares a very close bond with the seniors in their own lives. And we hope that once the influencers urge them, they would be more amiable to go and have a conversation with the seniors at home themselves.”
Do the increased usage of elderly influencers and more and more depiction of elders in content also hints at the cultural change India is undergoing?
Johari answered, “Not in the slightest. India is still leading in absolute numbers for the number of displaced seniors, homeless seniors, senior abuse incidents—not to mention that the public infrastructure services for the elderly even today remain extremely inadequate. So, we are nowhere close to a cultural shift.”
Johari is a true believer in giving freedom to content creators in the proceeds of making content for brands. He said, “Influence is the reason we're getting them. So let them frame the message. Let them decide how to make it more palatable for their audience. There is no use heckling them and making them do something that doesn't work according to their online personality.”
/buzzincontent-1/media/agency_attachments/ovtHKkiRFrKggtFNaCNI.png)
Follow Us/buzzincontent-1/media/post_banners/c6a522e50818bf6b00841e4775bf85f42992876f672503fb0c6a133b01493073.jpg)
/buzzincontent-1/media/post_attachments/ee8bb297a04ec7a2bc0fa8e20d76a3e0c9660f8ede25b44bb9cea5b6e6bb8eb3.jpg "publive-image")
/buzzincontent-1/media/post_attachments/403b1c1a2c153057918001c5fce37c28d66f07d32ec8a12e49afcb340c4bd69d.jpg "publive-image")