Older people sick of lonely and vulnerable stereotype - and feel 'bombarded' by TV ads for funerals, study finds
Older people feel they are 'bombarded' by adverts for funeral services, care homes and mobility aids, a new study by the advertising watchdog has found.
The elderly are fed up with being 'reduced to outdated stereotypes' depicting them as lonely and vulnerable in TV ads, according to the poll by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
More than a third of the UK population believe that older people are 'negatively stereotyped' in ads which depict them as 'lonely, purposeless or powerless'.
And Brits are concerned about how ads are targeted at them, with people aged 55 and over feeling 'bombarded' by promotions for 'funeral or cremation services, life insurance and care homes', especially during daytime television.
Beauty ads that suggest people have to 'fight' ageing were singled out by the public as 'potentially harmful', in particular for the 'harm to the self-esteem of women of all ages' they can cause, the poll of more than 4,000 Uk adults found.
One male respondent aged between 65 and 74 told researchers: 'I think [ads about looking young] are very patronising. It's saying that you should admire to look young when frankly, I embrace my wrinkles and bald head.'
People of all ages told researchers they wanted to see more 'authentic and realistic' portrayals of older people, avoiding depictions of OAPs 'always being wealthy or grumpy', for example.
The study says: 'While Britain may have an ageing population, growing older today looks very different from a generation or two ago.
'Older people are not only living longer, but they're also continuing to lead full, active lives, contributing to workplaces, families, communities, and the economy for longer.
'But people in our study told us that too often, advertising paints a very different and outdated picture.'
The ASA has previously banned ads that were 'likely to cause offence on the grounds of age' - including a billboard ad for electronic cigarettes depicting an older woman and younger man that suggested this was socially unacceptable.
However the independent body, which regulates all forms of advertising in the UK, said that while it was not currently proposing new rules, it had carried out the research to better inform businesses of public opinion around portrayals of ageing.
Kam Atwal, research lead at the ASA, said: 'As a society, we're living longer, richer, and more varied lives. Our research reveals that some of today's portrayals of older people in advertising are not being received positively, and that the public want ads to better reflect the varied lives older people lead today.'
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