A+E Research: Why Older Adults Matter to Advertisers

AE has done considerable work on the impact of marketing to the Total Audience not just younger demographics quotLast year we highlighted the power of the adult 50 consumer their scale and spending power and conducted proprietary studies that measured ad receptivity and the effects on purchase behaviorquot Tabares said quotWhile the data consistently revealed that adults 50 are incredibly powerful consumers who should not be ignored we found ourselves repeatedly coming up against deeply entrenched ageist beliefs that pervade our society and the ad industryquotIn recognizing the great consumer potential and the massive gap in visual representation AE set out to capture insights to support more ageinclusive advertising Over the past year it embarked on multiple phases of research to understand the realities of aging versus the societal perceptions This included examining how mature adults see themselves portrayed in advertising and how they really want to be seenquotIn this research journey I became acutely aware of my own ageist beliefsquot Tabares confessed quotI39m human and I39ve been conditioned by societal ideas and cultural values It39s hard not to internalize the antiaging concepts when you39ve been bombarded by these messages for decades amp8230 and you don39t even realize itquotThe research found that the truth of aging today doesn39t fit with prevailing cultural constructs quotOur findings shatter longstanding myths that call for us to reshape perceptions and make the invisible visiblequot she saidAgeist Myths and ArchetypesA specific set of archetypes associated with quotolderquot age frequently show up in advertising quotWe wanted to gather reactions to ads that show the range of tropes we typically see whether it was depicting older people as caricatures or reducing them down to their weaknesses frailties or vulnerabilitiesquot Tabares explained quotOn the other hand there are also positive stereotypes such as the happy loving doting grandmother or grandfather and a person who39s retiring very active and wealthy Stereotypes serve to homogenize groups and most mature adults don39t fit into these old stereotypes There is a vast and diverse lived experience in between that we are not portrayingquotIn order to craft a more nuanced look at older adults AE conducted digital ethnographies and followed those with quantitative surveys quotAfterwards we did an ad audit with MarketCast using AI technology to evaluate about 20000 adsquot Tabares noted AE sought to understand the demographic representation and who was seen in the adsSome Research HighlightsThe results of the research not only revealed how older adults view society39s perceptions of them but also how they themselves feel about agingFeeling of Unworthiness The respondents feel the weight of ageism saying that society viewed them as quotpassive feeble out of touch undesirable unsexy and irrelevantquot Tabares said A general sentiment was expressed quotWhy can39t they see who I really am and that I am worthyquotGender Differences quotWomen bear the weight of ageist beauty ideals in a way men don39tquot Lantieri noted quotWomen feel less permission to age and they judge themselves more harshly when they do They39re more likely to attach feelings of shame to physical signs of aging than men Given the steady stream of messaging that equates looking good with looking young it should come as no surprise that women are more likely to see the media as guilty in promoting ageismquotYounger Perceptions quotChronological age offers a limited view of what it means to agequot Tabares said quotPerceived age is much more resonant with how people see themselves Most people in the qualitative research on average perceived themselves as 15 years youngerquotEthnic Differences quotAging isn39t just influenced by gender identity it also varies across race and ethnicityquot Lantieri added quotMore than half of Black adults 50 reported feeling good about being their age whereas only 23 of white adults feel that way They express more fear and anxiety about agingquotSolutions Worth ConsideringWhat can we do to dispel the myths of aging For one thing older adults want to be seen and they want representations that are relatable quotDon39t be afraid to show themquot Tabares recommended quotAnd show more diverse depictions with interesting facets of identity Break the mold of typical rolesquotquotContrary to popular opinion people 50 are over five times more likely to say they want to see realistic depictions than to see someone who looks younger than them in adsquot Lantieri said quotThat was a key finding for us because we hear over and over that everyone wants to see people who are youngerquotThere39s also a need for representation beyond the typical ad sectors quotThe advertising industry and marketers have already decided what categories suit older adults like financial services health and medicinequot noted Tabares quotSix to seven percent of the faces in automotive ads are people 50 but they account for over 5 of the dollars spent on new cars and trucks How do we justify this How can anybody look at this data and say this is correctquotThe cosmetics category is another case in point We know that actors and celebrities over 50 are featured in cosmetics ads yet the AI didn39t pick up on that likely because the women in those ads tend to appear youngerTabares and Lantieri see a massive opportunity quotThere is a moral and social responsibility to start articulating a different narrative accepting embracing and knowing that the customer base is different than the one that we39ve been depicting for decadesquot Tabares concluded quotMedia and advertising have an important role in creating an ageinclusive world that is better for all of us That39s my little soapbox We39re going to get therequotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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A+E Research: Why Older Adults Matter to Advertisers

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Charlene Weisler

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