The Representation of Older People in Advertisements: Ageism in Advertising

This paper discusses the criticism that has been targeted at the advertising industry about its hesitancy to use older models in advertising.
  

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...

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