Something happens when a woman turns 52. This is the average age when she starts to feel invisible. (That’s a survey statistic, not an assumption.) She’s erased from culture, and even though she can have economic clout, she’s ignored by brands.

Society has decided that women perceived as past their required use (hmm, gotta be a mother) are not worth paying attention to.

JD Williams, the brand for midlife style, is saying enough is enough. And it’s doing it boldly, defiantly and with confidence, in a series of campaigns by House 337 this year. The new campaign dares society to ignore midlife women at your peril. The autumn/winter 23 campaign puts midlife women centre-stage to tackle midlife myths head-on. The campaign is spearheaded by a 30-second TV spot, that shows them as the fiercely stylish women they really are, not invisible but unmissable.

A cast of 50+ women are seen embracing all aspects of life, blatantly flouting the received wisdom around their age as a narrator repeats all the tired old rumours, “We have lost our style, forgotten how to party, are past it, probably stopped having sex a long time ago, choose to be invisible, play it safe – we are nothing but a hot mess,”  and the visual story rejects them.

The campaign follows on from JD Williams’s previous work celebrating women in midlife in their SS23 collection, and their role as sponsor of Davina McCall’s hit midlife dating show, My Mum Your Dad.

House 337: JD Williams gives middle-age love a reality check as sponsor for My Mum, Your Dad

House 337: JD Williams women say “Yes, I still look hot”

Esme Stone, Head of Brand Marketing at JD Williams, said: “We’re proud to present a second campaign that once again demonstrates our commitment to truly representing midlife women. With House 337, we’ll continue to flip the perception society holds of women past a certain age and represent a style which is made for them. Embracing the wit, confidence and the true stories of real midlife women across the entire lifestyle category this Autumn.”

Zara Ineson, executive creative director at House 337, stated, “The tides are slowly turning on society seeing the value and awesomeness of middle-aged women. But this can’t happen soon enough. We’ve been misrepresented or altogether ignored for too long, so shove over ‘silver fox’ men HERE COME THE F-ING GIRLS, and we’re not who you think we are! It’s fulfilling to be a part of this cultural revolution of really seeing midlife women through our myth-busting work with JD Williams. And I encourage even more marketers to harness the power of creativity and the reach of their brands for both commercial and societal progress.”

Lou Canham, creative director at House 337, added, “With the work demanding an even stronger POV on midlife for AW23 we stripped out the noise and placed our women in simple spaces that kept the spotlight on them and the message. This campaign demanded a stellar team filled with a diversely fierce female energy. The crew behind the lens had a huge impact on the energy on set. Director Amy Becker-Burnett’s punchy aesthetic was essential to ensure our visuals steered clear of midlife stereotypical advertising, supported by Jameela Elfaki on stills. With the styling, we pushed hard against expectations, to inspire midlife women to dress for themselves and no one else. Midlife, we see you, and for those of us that aren’t there yet, a galvanising message that there’s so much more to come.”

The campaign is running across the UK, in TV, BVOD, radio and social from September 29 to October 31, supported by media agency The 7 Stars.

Credits
Brand: JD Williams 
Head of Brand: Esme Stone
Brand Lead: Donna Scully

Agency: House 337
Executive Creative Director: Zara Ineson
Creative Director: Lou Canham
Art Director: Emma Jordan
Writer: Alex Holder
Strategy Director: Eleni Chalmers
Planners: Lottie Mayer
Senior Producer: Tash Dean
Assistant producer: Jasmine English
Account Management: Sarah Johnston, Rebecca Snaith, Hannah Thomas
Business Affaires: Julie Lagden, Jade Bailey

Media Agency: The 7 Stars; Suzanne Morgan, Libby Foster, Emily Docherty

Production Company: OB42
Director: Amy Becker-Burnett  
Executive Producer: Sam Holmes
Producer: Lucy Bradley
Director of Photography: Natasha Duursma

Post Production: Coffee & TV
Executive Post Producer: Dionne Archibald
Post Producer: Dylan Bolister
Colourist: Lewis Crossfield
VFX Artist: Alfie Vaughn

Sound Design: Bark Soho
Sound producer: Carley Reynolds
Sound Engineer: Marcus Ffitch
Music: The Hogan

Stills Photographer: Jameela Elfaki @ Laird & Good Company