The Representation of Older People in Advertisements
Marylyn Carrigan and Isabelle SzmiginDepartment of Commerce, University of Birmingham
In recent years, the marketing and advertising industries have been criticised for neglecting older consumers, both in the markets that they target, and the characters that they depict in advertising copy (Corlett 1998; Langmeyer 1993; Long 1998; Peterson 1992; Thomas & Wolfe 1995; Tregeur 1998). Critics cite an eagerness to use mainly young characters in advertisements, and a tendency to portray old age as undesirable as evidence of advertisers ageism. In general, age discrimination has been given a...