Portraying Older People in Advertising

First published in 1998. As society grows and changes, advertisers are faced with the challenge of matching their advertising messages to new and different target audiences. For example, children, adolescents, men, women, and "older" individuals are all audiences with specific needs, wants, and desires that advertisers must address in their advertising appeals. The purpose of this research is to determine the degree to which certain advertisements in the general interest media portray older individuals differently depending on the target audience. Specifically, this study examines advertisers’ attempts, in the electronic and print media, to target and attract the business of the older population.