Last Sunday, the TV show “My Generation,” which runs weekly on PBS, lost the daytime Emmy for outstanding lifestyle programming. Its competition was fierce: “The Nate Berkus Show,” from Oprah’s home design guy; the Style Network’s “How Do I Look?” and “The Martha Stewart Show,” which took home the trophy. But for “My Generation,” a show created by AARP, and aimed at viewers 50 and older, it was truly an honor just to be nominated.
“We were thrilled to be nominated, we really were,” said Kevin Donnellan, chief communications officer of AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons. “To receive this kind of recognition and this kind of nomination against the formidable talent that we were up against was something that we viewed with great pride.”
David Pepper, the executive producer of “My Generation,” said that the contest between TV veterans and his show, which has a full-time staff of just four people, was something of a David and Goliath battle, adding, “I think it really is a testament to how far we’ve come in a short period of time.”
Focus on 50-plus
On the air since 2008, “My Generation” is a rarity. In an industry where youth often translates to profit, the show stakes out an audience far from the 18- to 34-year-old spectrum that advertisers and television executives typically crave. Instead, the 30-minute show, hosted by Leeza Gibbons, is meant to appeal to an older population, with health and wealth tips — Martina Navratilova on improving posture, say, or investment strategies from Jim Cramer — and profiles of high-achieving people or celebrities, along with segments on Alzheimer’s, care-giving and strokes.
“‘My Generation’ is unique,” said Jack MacKenzie, president of the generational strategies division at Frank N. Magid Associates, a media research and consulting firm. “Not many informational programs specifically target 50-plus with their content,” he said in an e-mail. “In fact, can’t think of any.”
“I don’t know if they’re underserved,” MacKenzie added in a phone interview, speaking of viewers older than 50, “but they’re certainly under-respected.” While the 18-49 demographic is the currency against which most television advertising is sold, “50-plus viewers watch more TV than anybody.”
The idea for “My Generation” was born several years ago, in AARP’s headquarters in Washington. “We have an enormous amount of content,” Donnellan said. “It’s one of the things that we know our members come to AARP for.”
Branching out
In an effort to reach more people, the group decided to broaden its brand from publications (like its signature AARP the Magazine) to television. There was already a studio in their offices, and magazine cover subjects like John Leguizamo made for a natural crossover to television profiles. AARP also created “Inside E Street,” a program focused on politics and current affairs, at the same time. Both originally ran on a cable channel before moving to PBS, where the viewership skews older; they are now broadcast in 70 percent of PBS markets. Donnellan explained that AARP wanted to move into TV “to show the industry that there’s interest, there’s a market and it could be lucrative for them.”
“This is a population with a fair amount of disposable income,” he continued. “Contrary to the old stereotype that older people are brand loyal, that’s not necessarily the case. The bottom line is, the 50-plus are watching TV and buying products and services, and advertisers ignore that at their peril.”
For AARP there has always been the built-in marketing hurdle of acknowledging aging. It’s what the organization calls “getting the dreaded letter,” Donnellan said, “from the CEO of AARP, saying happy birthday, you’re now 50, please join the AARP. People dreaded that letter.”
To combat that, AARP has started a campaign with Betty White, the MVP of aging, inviting people to “get over it.” (A year ago, AARP also began a regular segment on the “Today” show, “Your Life Calling,” with Jane Pauley.) “My Generation” also includes segments with people who are not AARP age, like Brooke Shields and Daisy Fuentes. “It’s not about the number,” Pepper said.
