Q+A with Digi: Martha Stewart’s ageless chaos & why Gen Z love her

Martha Stewart has emerged as a surprising social media darling, beloved for her fun, ageless and chaotic vibes. We spoke to Linda Dyett for The New York Times on how Martha took TikTok through a viral campaign with skincare brand Clé de Peau:

The New York Times: What’s the Gen Z appeal of Martha Stewart?  

Digi: Youth is a mindset that Martha is still really owning. We define this category as ‘generation ageless’ – they paved the way and created the conditions for Gen Z culture to emerge. She is a perf example – consistently demonstrating icon behaviour by being both glam and messy. She also shows Gen Z the possibilities to maintain their hot sexy vibes making ageing less scary and more exciting. 

There’s also something Gen Z and millennials seem to love about older people acting in ways society thinks of as incongruent with ageing, like being extremely glamorous or knowing how to use social media in funny ways. At 80, Stewart is doing both – posting viral sultry selfies from her pool and collabing with rapper Yung Gravy in a commercial for her products. There’s also a growing fondness for scammer girlbosses, seen in the popularity of TV shows about Anna Delvey and Elizabeth Holmes respectively, and the Gen Z-led ‘gaslight, girlboss, gatekeep’ meme, which pokes fun at millennial girlboss culture while ironically embracing it. With a heavily publicised stint in prison following insider trader charges, Stewart has a history of living life as a scammer girlboss, even if it doesn’t define her public image today. 

NYT: What are a sizeable number of TikTok hits? Annie Korzen (an actress who was on Seinfeld, now in her 80s) gives advice on TikTok and has had 1.6 billions views so far. Sounds like a lot. How does Martha compare?  

Digi: Martha has a sizeable reach on TikTok, with an audience of over one million followers and consistent engagement on her videos. Her Clé de Peau TikTok ads are the most viewed videos on her TikTok channel, but it’s not as if that set just happened to go viral via the For You Page – her non-branded content performs, too. 

NYT: What's the appeal for Gen Z of Martha’s Cle de Peau TikTok videos? Words… gestures… clothing… using the rooms in her home as backdrops?

Digi: Martha’s Clé de Peau videos have a tongue-in-cheek goofiness that pairs well with her glam-domesticity. When she says (of herself), “she’s been serving for forty years”, in front of well-furnished bookshelves – Martha is bringing contemporary vernacular into her world of established leisure and refinement. This juxtaposition is charming to many. The videos don’t stray too far from who we know Martha Stewart to be, alluding to the world of homemaking and cooking, but with a touch of the absurd. They’re edited with gratuitous old school transitions, something Martha does in non-branded TikToks, and a charming tell of boomer-made content. 

NYT: How popular is a luxury brand like Clé de Peau for Gen Zers?  

Digi: There’s a segment of Gen Z that aspires to look and act “expensive”, and luxury products are a part of creating this lifestyle and showing to the world, as seen in the cult status of Dior Lip Oil and the Dyson Air Wrap, a pricey hair-styling tool, on TikTok. The skincare landscape seems to be shifting away from DTC, minimalist brands like Glossier to more luxurious and visually gilded brands like Dior and Clé de Peau. 

NYT: Are Martha’s Clé de Peau TikTok videos likely to generate more sales for the brand?  How popular is TikTok among older people?  

Digi: Boomers really made an entrance into sosh media and the online retail space during the pandemic – they previously hadn’t been served or represented by the digital ecosystem at all. It’s been quite beautiful to witness the new gen, who are known for celebrating both inclusivity and nostalgia, being so welcoming to boomer icons – Mick Fleetwood for Pleasing and Elton John for Palace are recent examples. Intergenerational collabs not only refreshingly deny the idea that everything needs to “look Gen Z”, they smartly unlock a spectrum of wealth. 

NYT: Are as many Gen Zers as I’m hearing about getting Botox, fillers, and other dermatology treatments – in an effort to prevent future wrinkles?

Digi: Tweaks and treatments used to be less common, more expensive and unsubtle. In the ‘90s, patients snuck out of the clinic looking yass-ified and were vulnerable to judgement for choosing an indulgent and unusual form of self care. This shame and stigma made previous generations gate-keep or deny their quick fixes. Until recently having work done was sort of lose-lose, people were suspicious of those who kept their tweakments silent, digging up baby pics and analysing anyone who credited puberty as a tool for glowing up. Equally, anyone who was open about their treatments would be branded as unnatural and unworthy of being considered genuinely attractive, as if “natural beauty” held more value. 

Fast forward to 2022, injectables are commonly admitted by celebs and influencers, they’re a standard part of glam upkeep and an easy way for Gen Z to keep up with their influences. Spiked demand means it’s easy to find a clinic, treatments are quick, less expensive and way more accessible to a younger consumer. I think people are exhausted by traditional self-care routines now, Gen Z are leaning towards low-stress, low-risk quick fixes as they realise skin routines don’t have to mean 10 products layered every night. That’s a lot of dedication for something that can all be undone from one skipped night or a hormonal change. Treatments feel like skipping to one of the best parts of a beauty routine – the results!

NYT: How popular is Martha in the U.K. and elsewhere in the world?

Digi: Martha has so much global appeal – her attributes are a language we can all understand. Firstly, we all love an underdog, she has had a rough time in the public eye and people are enjoying rooting for her in her bop era. Secondly, her past as an ex-con gives her an anti-establishment edge – she’s an unconventional girlboss who scammed the state and we love that (Hey, Anna Delvey)! Finally, she’s totally ageless – she has the warmth of a quirky aunt, she has pets, she can cook, she's organised, but then she keeps us guessing with her thot content, self-deprecating humour and CBD vape.  

NYT: Are Gen Zers really concerned/obsessed with having perfect, smooth skin? Why?  

Digi: Wanting smooth skin isn’t exclusive to youth or Gen Z, but unlike their predecessors they have grown up with less before/after ‘skin-fixing’ marketing. Layered makeup to hide skin texture isn’t cool anymore and obviously never looked good. Thankfully the conversation is evolving towards skin neutrality, authenticity and a perf moisturised base is the modern beauty standard.   

NYT: Is she making fun of beauty ads in these videos? Do viewers realise that?

Digi: Beauty has proved itself as one of the most innovative and inventive industries on social media – it’s reached its peak and beauty content is having this entertaining and introspective period. Making fun of something overproduced is funny, cheap and not that deep – it’s been tactically made for the TikTok audience scrolling for their dopamine hit of anti-aspirational content. 

Read the full article by Linda Dyett here. 
✨ Contributing Fairies

• Eve Lee, Founder
• Jane Macfarlane, Creative Brand Director 
• Biz Sherbert, Culture Editor

✨ Digi Reading Recs

• Martha Stewart Did a ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ Challenge—With Dr. Dre Audio Instead (Glamour, 2022) 
• Martha Stewart is the go-to TikTok influencer for luxury beauty (Glossy, 2022)
• Coastal Grandmother Style Is Making Waves in the Design World—Expect to See This Curated Aesthetic Everywhere (Martha Stewart, 2022)

For more content like this, explore the rest of the Digiverse, or connect with us on TikTok or Instagram. If you’re a brand or business and want to inspire your audience in innovative ways, reach out to our strategic & creative lab eve@thedigitalfairy.co.uk