Call for Papers. Aging in Advertising. Reflections on the representation of the elderly in campaigns and on age in the advertising industry
March 11, 2024

Call for Papers. Aging in Advertising. Reflections on the representation of the elderly in campaigns and on age in the advertising industry

Old age and aging are biological as well as sociocultural constructs and processes; they cannot be completely separated, but rather they influence each other and get interrelated with the passing of time. As sociocultural constructs, old age, aging and their definition are not immovable concepts and, in fact, vary depending on the different historical, social and cultural contexts.   Likewise, the definition and organization of each of the population groups by age are not fixed. For example, for decades, 65+ has been agreed upon by the UN and the WHO, among others, as the beginning of old age; however, market studies propose 50+ and establish two groups: 50+ seniors and 75+ seniors. With this premise, the relationship between age and advertising presents many angles from which it can be approached. In this call for papers, we propose a reflection on two specific issues: the portrayal of seniors in advertising messages and what it is like to age in the advertising profession itself.   Reflections from the advertising message How do advertising strategies construct the idea of old age and the representations of the elderly? Research in this regard reveals a long-standing underrepresentation of the senior public in advertising (Compte, 2023), as well as an undervaluation and anecdotal presence based on stereotypes (Ramos-Soler & Carretón-Ballester, 2012; Ramos-Soler & Papí-Gálvez, 2012; De-Andrés-Del-Campo & De-Lima-Maestro, 2014; Mancebo-Aracil, 2014; Ms. Rushmore, 2018) and gendered ageism (Antón-Carrillo et al., 2022). These findings respond to a possible definition of ageism. The WHO adds that ageism occurs when age is used to categorize and divide people causing harm, disadvantage and injustice. Ageism can take many forms, including prejudice, discrimination, and institutional policies and practices that perpetuate stereotypical beliefs.   However, we are beginning to see some examples of less stereotypical representations of age, and even of brands that, hitherto, had no clear interest in the elderly, now focusing on them as a target audience. The urge of brands to disseminate close, transparent and empathetic messages leads them to show in their stories a reality (Solana, 2010) with which to reach the stage of purpose-driven brands (Milagro, 2021). Although there still seems to be a long way to go, this new scenario is leading to an increasing number of advertisers whose creative strategies advocate the visibility of diversity, including that of the elderly. These approaches are changing the rules in favor of cultural effectiveness (Nos & Farné, 2019).   Some lines of research related to this approach are:
  • The study of advertising strategies breaking away from ageism.
  • The representation of old age and aging in advertising.
  • The analysis of the intersection of age and gender in advertising discourse.
  • The engagement of advertising with active aging.
  • The representation of the elderly: a comparison of commercial campaigns versus institutional or third sector campaigns.
Reflections from the advertising industry As stated by Mónica Moro, President of the Club de Creativos between 2021 and 2023, the work teams in charge of advertising campaigns do not include people over 50 years old, and their beliefs about old age and aging undoubtedly condition the elaboration of the message (Jurado, 2023). This age discrimination is also reflected in studies (Soria & Gómez, 2017) that analyze writers and art directors who are generally males aged between 25 and 35, so that more than 59% of the people employed in the advertising industry are between 25 and 44 years old.   Furthermore, we know that turnover and abandonment are frequent situations in the advertising industry, especially when professionals get older: this is demonstrated by the studies "Por qué te vas" (Más Mujeres Creativas, 2024) and the "II Estudio de la Industria Publicitaria" (Club de Creativos & APG España, 2022). 75% of professionals cannot picture themselves working in an advertising agency in 10 years; young people under 30 years of age are the ones most likely to consider giving it up, due to exhaustion and mental health concerns or dissatisfaction regarding salary or work schedules, in addition to the lack of recognition in the specific case of women.   Some lines of research proposed from this approach are:
  • The analysis of profiles, age and gender in the advertising industry.
  • The causes and consequences of the juniorization of agencies.
  • The influence of the agency's work team on the message.
  • The analysis of profiles, age and gender in the advertising client.
  • The beliefs of creative teams about old age and aging.
This monograph is thematically related to the R+D+i State Plan project, Generation of Knowledge 2022 "Envejecer en la publicidad" (PID2022-138160OB-I00), funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033/ and by FEDER A way to make Europe, and directed by María Elvira Antón-Carrillo.   Deadline for submission of manuscripts: September 1, 2024. Monograph coordinators:
  • Araceli Castelló-Martínez ( Universidad de Alicante).
  • María del Rocío Blay-Arráez (Universitat Jaume I de Castellón).
  • María Elvira Antón-Carrillo (Universitat Jaume I de Castellón).
References
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  • Club de Creativos & APG España (2022). II Estudio de la Industria Publicitaria. http://tinyurl.com/cdec-apgspain
  • Compte Pujol, M. (2023). Edadismo y publicidad: las marcas ya no esconden (tanto) las canas. COMeIN, 133. https://doi.org/10.7238/c.n133.2342
  • De-Andrés-Del-Campo, S. & De-Lima-Maestro, R. (2014). Critical analysis of government vs. Commercial advertising discourse on older persons in Spain. Comunicar, 42, 189-197. https://doi.org/10.3916/C42-2014-19
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  • Jurado, M. (2023). Mónica Moro, publicista: “Muchas empresas tienen prejuicios y no quieren ser `marcas de viejos´”. 65YMás.com (August 20). http://tinyurl.com/jurado-2023
  • Mancebo-Aracil, J. F. (2014). Mayores, publicidad y medios de comunicación: Una revisión teórica. Historia y Comunicación Social, 19, 573-588. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_HICS.2014.v19.45050
  • Más Mujeres Creativas (2024). Por qué te vas. http://tinyurl.com/mmc-porquetevas
  • Milagro, M. (2021). El poder de la marca: valores y actitudes para cambiar el mundo. Telos: cuadernos de comunicación e innovación, 116, 22-25. https://bit.ly/milagro-2021
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  • Ramos-Soler, I. & Carretón-Ballester, M. C. (2012). Presencia y representación de las personas mayores en la televisión española. Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología, 47(2), 55-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regg.2011.11.010
  • Ramos-Soler, I. & Papí-Gálvez, N. (2012). Personas mayores y publicidad: Representaciones de género en televisión. Estudios sobre el Mensaje Periodístico,18, 753-762. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_ESMP.2012.v18.40954
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