Source: TheDrum
A new research by YouGov conducted with over 1000 people in the UK has showed that 68% of people over the age of 50 feel they are not accurately reflected in advertising.
Although big brands are making efforts to appeal to this audience, like L’Oreal and their ‘Gold, not Old’ campaign with Helen Mirren, the newest data shows that only 21% of this demographic believe brands’ representation of them is accurate.
18% of respondents said ads for beauty products least accurately portray older people, while 14% said the fashion industry was guilty of imprecision when it came to potrayals of the age group. Technology firms were the third-least inclusive, with 14% of older people agreeing so.
Commenting on the trend, L’Oréal Paris’ UK general manager Adrien Koskas toldthe UK magazine The Drum that all of the brand’s own research indicates that women over 55 in particular feel forgotten or “invisible” in advertising.
“This is exactly why we’ve been pushing to change this within the beauty industry for many years now. Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and of course our iconic Helen Mirren show the commitment from L’Oréal to help 55+ women feel represented and have a face and a voice in the advertising industry,” he said.
13% of those aged 50 and over believed that the health industry was most likely to represent them in a way they related to while 12% said ads for financial products usually depicted their age group in a way they recognised.
YouGov’s findings come amid a push from brands traditionally skewed towards an older demograhic, like M&S and John Lewis, looking to appeal to younger audiences. Where M&S, had previously built its strategy around ‘Mrs M&S’ – females aged 50 and above – it has since backed away from this approach saying marketing is about “attitude”, rather than age.
When it comes to overall media, like TV, radio and online, YouGov’s research found that 79% of those questioned didn’t believe they were portrayed accurately. Over two-thirds (68%) said they felt unconnected to present day pop-culture.
