Rewriting the Myth of Invisibility: The Presentation of Older Adults in Australian Advertising

Abstract

Old age diversity and inclusion in branded communication has become an increasingly important topic in Australia. This chapter establishes why brands should care about old age equity, inclusion and diversity, followed by an investigation into the current presentation of older adults in Australian advertising. Adopting a promotional culture stance, this empirical study examines the social standing of older Australians, those aged 50 years and over, as reflected by advertising, and investigates the previous claims of scant attention, marginalisation and dismissal of this social group. A media content analysis of 1,050 print advertisements shows that while older adults as a whole are frequently presented, there are still intersectional aspects of old age that are neglected in contemporary Australian advertising, such as gender, ethnic and age diversity. Although brands are increasingly offering representations of older adults, this has yet to embrace a more authentic appearance of different experiences and backgrounds commensurate with Australian society. It is recommended that brands and advertising professionals in Australia take inspiration from other countries to accelerate their efforts for equity, diversity and inclusion in branded communication. marginalisation and dismissal from over a decade ago truly reflect contemporary advertising in Australia? This chapter attempts to provide an answer to this question.Building on the body of existing research, this study adopts a promotional culture stance, considering advertising as a "distorting mirror" (Olsen 2022: 52) that indicates and influences the social standing of older people within Australia. It is framed by vitality theory (King Smith/Ehala/Giles 2017), according to which the standing of any social group within a society is reflected by the media and, thus, can be determined through the examination of, for example, advertising. Vitality theory is based on the grouping of individuals via socio-demographic variables, such as their proportion within a population, geographical distribution, political awareness and social status. Behind this lies the assumption that groups of greater number and social importance are considered to have greater 'vitality', and thus continue their survival as groups, and the specific group features are propagated. A group that possesses more vitality will receive much greater support and representation in society as a whole, including in the media (McConnell 1991;Harwood/Roy 2005). Therefore, by looking at how groups are portrayed within media content, one can gain insight into the social standing and the perception of these people within a society (Kessler/Schwender/Bowen 2010). Combined with cultivation theory (Gerbner et al. 2002), and a structurationist understanding of advertising (Cluley 2017), this study assumes that portrayals that are picked up and disseminated by advertising influence audiences-and the wider society-by becoming part of a person's socialisation.