When it comes to fitness videos, older is better

There is one part of the DVD store where the youthful faces lose out to women in their 40s. You won't find perky 20-somethings as they cannot compete with mature women who have given birth and raised families. Where is this parallel universe that seems to go against everything we know about marketing? It's the exercise DVD section.

Examples include: Cathe Friedrich, the aerobics boot-camp-and-kickboxing queen, 43; Jari Love, weight-training videos, 42. Leslie Sansone, the "Walking Woman," 45; Kathy Smith, 55; and Denise Austin, 50.

Several factors contribute to this phenomenon. Among them, Jane Fonda set the tone in 1982 when she kicked off the fitness video industry with her first home video, she was already 45. Also important is that the women who buy these are middle age themselves and want to know that they can look good despite having given birth multiple times, a message that a 21-year old can't convey. Seeing someone as old or older than you that looks great is inspirational, seeing someone 20 years younger than you look great can be depressing.

According to Jill Ross, director of product acquisition at Collage Video:

8.5 million fitness DVDs were sold in the United States from July 2006 through June 2007; the average home video user is about 45, and most instructors don’t hit their stride with viewers until around age 37. "You need a certain commanding presence," she said. “If Oprah was 22, would she be fun to watch?”

One final factor for the increase of average age of fitness videos is that much like their Hollywood cousins video producers have had difficulty cultivating new talent so the same stars put out titles year after year.

Source of quotes and information: New York Times

Amazon link to one of the mentioned titles: Burn Fat Fast - Cardio Dance & Sculpt