Ads and Elders
Advertising and elders
Advertisers will pay more to reach younger people than to reach older people. The youth bias perpetuates through the advertising industry because the advertising industry itself is a young business. Older adults are rarely seen in any type of mass media, including advertising. The mass media emphasis on youth and beauty is one reason older adults are ignored. Studies done during the 1970s and 1980s show that less than 5% of commercials feature any elder characters at all. Role portrayals of elders are often tied directly into the products that sponsor the advertising in which they appear. The primary categories where older adults appear are financial services, food and health. Each of these bring about a different set of portrayals. Elders are most often portrayed as retired or as persons planning for retirement, which is reflected in the frequency of their portrayals in advertisements for financial services. Eg. Insurance companies- Life insurance for oldage, Ayurvedic concepts like joints pains in elders, Hair dye (Godrej) shows an old man dying his hair to look young, Joint relief sprays and balms( Relispray), Pharma companies show medicines that will help old people with their problems, etc.
Elders tend not to be seen in the workplace or out with large groups of people but are seen at home thinking about the immediate future and their financial needs. Often, such portrayals may generate a sense of uneasiness, as viewers compare themselves to the older adults in the ad. They tend to ask themselves questions to judge whether they are doing better than them. In advertisements for food products, elders are often seen as the doting grandparents or as empty nesters. Again, they are seen primarily in the home and not out in the community or workplace. Many older adults appear in advertisements focusing on health and health concerns in particular. When older adults are seen as vital, they rarely participate in physically strenuous activities.
Advertisers will pay more to reach younger people than to reach older people. The youth bias perpetuates through the advertising industry because the advertising industry itself is a young business. Older adults are rarely seen in any type of mass media, including advertising. The mass media emphasis on youth and beauty is one reason older adults are ignored. Studies done during the 1970s and 1980s show that less than 5% of commercials feature any elder characters at all. Role portrayals of elders are often tied directly into the products that sponsor the advertising in which they appear. The primary categories where older adults appear are financial services, food and health. Each of these bring about a different set of portrayals. Elders are most often portrayed as retired or as persons planning for retirement, which is reflected in the frequency of their portrayals in advertisements for financial services. Eg. Insurance companies- Life insurance for oldage, Ayurvedic concepts like joints pains in elders, Hair dye (Godrej) shows an old man dying his hair to look young, Joint relief sprays and balms( Relispray), Pharma companies show medicines that will help old people with their problems, etc.
Elders tend not to be seen in the workplace or out with large groups of people but are seen at home thinking about the immediate future and their financial needs. Often, such portrayals may generate a sense of uneasiness, as viewers compare themselves to the older adults in the ad. They tend to ask themselves questions to judge whether they are doing better than them. In advertisements for food products, elders are often seen as the doting grandparents or as empty nesters. Again, they are seen primarily in the home and not out in the community or workplace. Many older adults appear in advertisements focusing on health and health concerns in particular. When older adults are seen as vital, they rarely participate in physically strenuous activities.