Age differences in ad response

Steve Martyn

People of different ages respond differently to advertising. People aged over 50 were found to be neglected by most campaigns and to assume advertising was for younger people, and examples of brands are given.

Age Differences in Ad Response

Steve Martyn, Prime Advertising, shows that the over-50s are feeling neglected

It has long been recognised by practitioners and researchers that response to ads (in terms of, for example, awareness, recognition, recall, liking, comprehension, and so on) varies by age. Younger people are, typically, quicker to assimilate and respond to ads, and this is a generalisable finding from U&A and tracking studies. At the very least, this should influence media strategies targeting different age groups, and should also encourage the thought that creative treatments and techniques should be adjusted to take account of age-related...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands