Age-friendly Advertising: A Qualitative Research on the Romanian Silver Consumers

Abstract

As consumption has become a major aspect that characterizes the life of people currently aged 55 and older, fervent public and academic debates have been raised around the accurate portrayal of seniors in advertising. While most of the previous quantitative and qualitative research highlighted the inappropriate ways of representing elders and the unsuitable framing of advertising claims, little research has been done so far to understand which are seniors' expectations regarding their portrayal in current advertising campaigns. Based on in-depth interviews with Romanian adults of the 55+ generation, this paper investigates how seniors understand ageing with respect to the manner in which they have been depicted in nowadays advertising and what are the detailed features of the offensive or inoffensive advertising campaigns targeting them. The findings revealed that participants that lost their status during ageing favor the use of chronological rather than cognitive images of their age. Additionally, the running of the natural surroundings in advertising were found as empowering for both the young and the older adults of our research.

Age-Inclusive Healthcare Sustainability: Romania’s Regulatory and Initiatives Landscape in the European Union Context

“…The authors highlighted the value of appropriate theoretical knowledge of elderly needs, the prerequisite of training toward age-friendly architecture and the implication of professionals in the process when medical facilities are parts of the construction [69]. Duduciuc [70] examined advertising models and techniques appropriate for senior consumers (+55 years). The presence of natural surroundings in advertisements empowers all consumers regardless of age.…”

“…The presence of natural surroundings in advertisements empowers all consumers regardless of age. The seniors who took part in the study prefer to be shown in the advertisement as active members of society (e.g., surrounded by grandchildren and children, in society, or mentoring young people) [70].…”

El envejecimiento gerontológico como desafío social y su detección en el contenido de los medios de comunicación ucranianos

“…Esto afecta a las interacciones diarias, incluida la forma en que tratamos a las personas mayores, así como la forma en que nos percibimos a nosotros mismos como "viejos". Una opinión similar es la de los propios ciudadanos mayores, que, por ejemplo, "los mayores prefieren aquellos elencos publicitarios que los retratan como personas activas que desempeñan un papel importante en la vida de sus allegados (es decir, nietos e hijos) y en la sociedad, en general (es decir, que son mentores de los jóvenes en el mercado laboral)" (Duduciuc, 2017). Unas imágenes gerontológicas más positivas de las personas mayores en los medios de comunicación reducirían significativamente el edadismo en cualquier cultura comunicativa.…”