Great Jeans, Greater Influence: Katie Couric Shows Why Gen More Can’t Be Ignored
Katie Couric knows how to make preventive health care memorable. Two decades after her on-air colonoscopy turned the “Today” show into a teachable moment, she’s back — this time trading her hospital gown for “great jeans” in a cheeky parody of Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle spot.
Created with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance and Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, the PSA reminds viewers that colorectal cancer doesn’t just run in families. Everyone 45+ should get screened. The spoof opens with Couric in a jean jacket and hospital bed, teasing her audience with lines like, “Mine are televised,” while humorously shutting down the doctor’s request to remove the camera crew.
It’s a brilliant collision of pop culture, public health, and parody. And for marketers, it’s a wake-up call: this is how today’s 50+ want to be spoken to — not with hushed tones or tired clichés, but with wit, authenticity, and cultural fluency.
Lee Saint James, Co-Founder/Creative Director of Openly Gray, an ad agency that believes marketing overlooks its most valuable consumers– the 50+ cohort, praised the effort:
“Right off the cuff, I celebrate the cheekiness. While the execution could have leaned even closer to the original, it succeeds as a spoof. Drafting the ridiculous controversy of the AE spot renders the outrage moot. Humor is the one vehicle that truly resonates with this cohort.
Most agencies assume the 50+ crowd is boring, with sticks up their asses. What they didn’t realize is that those sticks were rectal probes — always comedy gold. I’d rate this a 4.75 out of 5. And frankly, this will get more attention than Cologuard’s little animated box.”
Couric’s spot not only makes colon health a cultural conversation again — it also shatters one of marketing’s most persistent blind spots. The 50+ audience is the most affluent, influential consumer group in history. They travel, they spend, they invest in tech, wellness, and experiences. Yet brands rarely portray them as witty, stylish, or culturally relevant.
The Takeaway?
Campaigns that tap humor, intelligence, and authenticity won’t just resonate with this cohort — they’ll capture loyalty (and spending power) that younger-skewing ads can’t match.
