Anna Kozłowska
OLD AGE AS SHOWN IN ADVERTISING SPOTS

Introduction

On the one hand, advertising as a social phenomenon is a kaleidoscope of various values, norms, and patterns of behaviour – it is full of gaps, inadequacies, and contradictions. On the other hand, as a marketing message, it shows many characters, including the elderly, in a simplified and comprehensible way, easily acceptable by recipients. The very fact of presenting a person at a certain period of life in a commercial shapes the awareness of existence of a generation, communicating that it has its needs or expectations as well as its place in society. We can oppose a certain image of old age or accept it, but at least we know that such an age exists, and we do not look at it as if through a lace curtain but experience it.

In the long run, advertising has the potential to reformulate the image of old age, as it is a place of discourse around the concept of old age and the elderly people’s place and role in society. By showing the characters in a specific social context, commercials participate in the process of creating, strengthening, and consolidating the thinking about specific social groups (roles).¹ The reference to age in commercials is supposed to help with becoming accustomed to old age as a phase of life in which we stay increasingly long – or, conversely, to build a belief in only the bad sides of this period of our lives. The image of old age in advertising influences the level of our optimism, well‑being, and activities undertaken. Whether an average person will perceive old age as something attractive or, on the contrary, frightening, will depend on the values (positive or negative) attributed to this period of life.²

The main subject of the research is the image of old age in advertising. The aim of the research is to show advertising as a tool of media discourse around elderly people’s place in society. Qualitative analysis of the content has been selected as the research method. The research material consists of advertising spots from the period 2012–2022, collected via the YouTube social portal.

The research analysis encompassed those advertising spots in which an elderly person appears (and it is only in this context that the reference to old age is examined). The judgment that we are dealing with an elderly person was based on the subjective perception of physical characteristics, e.g., grey hair, wrinkles, or a hunched silhouette. These features do not have to occur all together, one distinguishing feature is enough. When choosing spots, it was necessary to consider where elderly people were likely to appear. In many studies on the subject, there are such product categories as: drugs and dietary supplements, food, financial services, cosmetics, and the so‑called ‘white cosmetics’ used for skin/body care, as opposed to decorative substances. It was assumed that an elderly person might also appear in commercials for other product categories, hence, at Stage 1, research material was archived without a clear indication of product categories (536 spots were collected). Finally, at Stage 2, 73 spots of the following product categories were included: drugs and dietary supplements, food, cosmetics (care/white and decorative/coloured), and jewellery. The parentheses contain links to the 45 advertising spots used in the article.

What do we do with the old age?

According to the World Health Organisation, old age begins at the age of 60 (according to the UN guidelines – from the age of 65) and is divided into three stages:³

60+ – advanced age, the so‑called early old age

75+ – senile age, the so‑called late old age

90+ – oldest old, the so‑called long‑lived old age.

Old age is not only related to the metric age (how old I am). It is the cognitive age as well (how old I feel). Old age is also the biological age, determined by a person’s physical fitness (how I feel), the psychological age determined by intellectual agility (how I think), functioning of sensory organs (how I react) and the person’s adaptability (how I behave). In addition, old age is a social age which reflects the person’s place and role in the society (how others perceive and treat me).⁴

Old age is often perceived as something that should be escaped, as an incurable – even though it is possible to slow it down – fatal disease that deprives us of the joy of life, arouses anxiety and a feeling that nothing good can happen to us anymore. We can even risk stating that, in the current young people’s culture, the fear of old age begins quite early – the moment the first grey hair or wrinkle appears. According to Dąbrowska, treating old age as taboo is characteristic of developed communities in which the average life expectancy increases, the aging of the population progresses, with simultaneous prevalence of the cult of youth. In this way, we find ourselves with a subject that is not discussed directly – or only in a veiled way. This leads us to down‑aging through euphemisms – instead of saying that we are dealing with an old man or an old woman, we call them a senior, a not‑so‑young person, not in their first youth, third‑age, elderly, mature, or in‑between.⁵ This allows us to avoid negative connotations associated with old age, prepares us for this period in our own lives, uplifts us, brightens the time of waiting for old age.

The image of old age is worth breaking the spell burdening it. This seems to be necessary to all of us – old and young alike. The image of old age requires greater diversity as well – showing that, like in any generation, the elderly are a group with different needs, possibilities, and expectations. This will allow us to take off the burden of the unfortunate, resentful old witch, so envious of Snow White’s youth that she tries to kill her.

In advertising, the breakthrough moment for the image of old age was the Allegro spot where an elderly man is the main hero (see Allegro: English For Beginners | What do you look for at Christmas? 2016). We see him ordering English textbooks from an online store and setting off to visit his family living in the UK for the holidays. This is no longer an image of loneliness of the elderly whose relatives have left to earn money abroad – it is an image of a senior undertaking activities that were once attributed only to the young: computer skills, language learning, a long journey undertaken by himself.

Analysis of the use of the image of old age in advertising

In the advertising of medicines and dietary supplements, we had long been exposed to images of elderly people struggling with all kinds of age‑associated diseases: joint or spine pain, memory disorders and circulatory conditions.⁶ The material shows a positive image of a multi‑generational family (Amol, 2012), where the grandmother is sitting in a chair, knitting (Amol, 2016), while the grandchildren are sitting on the grandfather’s lap. In an advertisement for an anti‑flatulence remedy (Xenna Zioła, 2012), the woman, after taking the remedy, instead of sitting on the couch, indulges her passion – baking; she spends her free time with her daughter, for whom she makes a cake. As noted by A. Stefaniak‑Hrycko,⁷ the elderly people’s cheerful faces seem to say that, precisely at the moment recorded in the advertisement, they can be with their loved ones and thus achieve full happiness. Of course, this does not seem to be a bad thing; over time, however, the image of a senior person has become more diverse. Even earlier, there were spots in which elderly people would not only spend time with their family but also fall in love and date (Apap, Pan Antoni 2009). We could risk stating that the idea of diversity among elderly people has made its way to advertising (see Biotebal Plus, 2022).

In the advertisement, the elderly person performs everyday activities with vigour, joy, passion, and energy (Litorsal Senior, 2020). The senior man spends his life not only with his family, but also pursues his passions outside the home. The advertisement features seniors hiking in the mountains (Amol, 2021), riding a bike or a horse (Apap, 2021), and even deciding to part with a partner (Rutinacea Max D3, 2022). The advertisement seems to say ‘do not be afraid of old age, a senior’s life can be interesting, full of new experiences and challenges’ (Neomag, 2016). Qualitative research does not provide for mentioning the prevalence of any specific image in advertising. It is worth noting, however, that the collected material shows the image of an elderly woman spending time actively, alone or with friends. The man is shown as a single person or in a family circle – he does not meet his friends in a pub nor do they play football together. Advertising seems to use a more diverse image of an elderly woman – her ageing is more interesting.

Moreover, advertising is breaking taboos on topics (and words) – ‘menstruation’ was the first to make its way into advertising; it took several more years for ‘menopause‘ to appear in a commercial on discomforts accompanying this period of a woman’s life (Climea Forte, 2022). Quantitative research can probably confirm that advertising speaks more openly about women’s health than men’s.

Over the years, an elderly person has become synonymous with the effectiveness and safety of a specific drug – if a senior person recommends it (Etopiryna, 2022) or uses it (UroFuraginum Max, 2017), it must work. Seniors are shown as happy, satisfied with life, calm (Amol, 2019). A senior woman is no longer a grandmother with a bun of grey hair, dressed inconspicuously so as not to draw too much attention (Sylimarol, 2016). In the 2000s, she has long, loose hair and wears colourful clothes (Multilac, 2022). Elderly men’s silhouettes and outfits are not so distinctive and are more conservative.

A senior is no longer just a grandmother or grand­father who dresses their ‘appropriate’ age – they wear whatever they want, breaking with stereotypical concepts of what is appropriate. An elderly person is no longer just someone focused on other people’s (e. g., chil­dren’s or grandchildren’s) needs and expectations – instead, they begin to think about their own needs, love, self‑realisation. Currently, a sen­ior’s social age is shifted by many years – old age begins somewhere after eighty.

In advertisements, an elderly person (especially a man) invariably maintains their status of an expert: a doctor, a pharmacist, or a lecturer (Neomag Skurcz, 2021). The man’s outfit reflects the hero’s profession: it is a doctor’s smock or a suit. A scientist’s attribute is glasses, not only due to his eyesight deteriorating with age but also as a sign of intelligence and wisdom about life (Ginkofar, 2016). It is worth noting, however, that elderly people are hardly ever shown in workplaces (Flavamed Max, 2012). While the image of an elderly person actively spending their free time is working its way through the media, mature employees – other than the man‑expert – are absent in the public space. The spot in which the handsome, fit and trim Santa is given a sleigh of the future does not make a breakthrough yet (see Audi: Christmas, 2022).

In food advertising, just like in the case of medicines and dietary supplements, elderly people were presented, until recently, mainly in relationships with their loved ones – children, grandchildren, sometimes friends.⁸ Seniors still appear contextually, showing a happy, multi‑generational family (Pudliszki, 2020), e.g., during the preparation of Christmas meals (Wedel, 2021). They make it possible to attribute additional meaning to products, e.g., a traditional recipe (Piątnica, 2018) or food that tastes just like grandmother’s (Lisner, 2021).

Grandma’s and grandpa’s roles seem to be the most important in food advertising. It shows concern for the grandchildren’s health (Lubella, 2021), for the development of their talents (Lubella Mąka, 2019) and, consequently, the need to pass down tradition and practical wisdom. Another way to use the image of an elderly person is to show the product as an opportunity to express love and gratitude to parents and grandparents, emphasising their importance in our lives (Merci, 2017).

It is worth adding that, just like in the advertising of medicines and dietary supplements, professionally active elderly people very seldom appear in food advertising; one spot featured a woman – a veterinarian (Łowicz: Breakfast, 2018); another showed a man – a manager (Łowicz: The Real Cooking, 2020). The whole series of advertisements for Wedel chocolate products does present professionally active elderly people, but it does so in a negative context – a disagreeable geography teacher (Wedel: The Geography Lesson, 2017), an annoyed entrepreneur stuck a traffic jam (Wedel: The Traffic Jam, 2017), a sad city guard (Wedel: The Guard, 2018). In advertising, old age appears as the opposite of childlike joy.

In the spots, we also see elderly people pointing to the good quality of Wedel chocolate products – a company representative in Ghana (Wedel: Cocoa from Ghana 2018) or an apprentice by the name of Renata (Wedel: Extra Milk Chocolate, 2020). An interesting example is the spot in which a traditional recipe is emphasised by showing the history of chocolate production before the war and nowadays. In the retro film, chocolate is made by elderly specialists. In the contemporary film, it is prepared by young people. We can understand it in two ways, as a reference to the value of post‑figurative culture in which we draw patterns from the elders, or as a reference to prefigurative culture, where young people assume responsibilities for deeply‑held values (Wedel: Made of the Best Cocoa from Ghana, 2020).

What is interesting from the point of view of our considerations is the advertisement of so‑called ‘white cosmetics’, targeted at women aged 60+, where a woman seems to be reconciled with her age, she accepts it instead of struggling, and the cosmetics are named pro‑age (Dove). In another ad (Bioliq 65+, 2020), singer Izabela Trojanowska convinces us that she is still beautiful and her skin is smooth, firm and supple (sic!). In the advertising of cosmetics, professionally active women are celebrities: models, singers, actresses, cosmetic company owners (Janda, 2015). No other professionally active women are to be seen in the material – this is yet another area of advertising where an elderly person is sent to retirement.

In the narrative, the woman is convinced that her metric age is not an issue – as opposed to her biological age (I want to get rid of the signs of old age) and cognitive age (I want to feel young). By reproducing the statement ‘I feel young’, we confirm that old age is negative. This happens even in the spots which break the taboo around the aforementioned word ‘menopause’ (see Vichy Neovadiol, 2022). Despite the biological age, a woman is still supposed to feel and look young – which gives her a chance to attract the eyes of a man, usually younger (Soraya Total Collagen, 2018). An elderly woman’s place in society is changing – she is not relegated to the background, into the recesses of life, she is active. In social relations, she begins to be on a par with a man and his long‑standing presence in social consciousness as the one capable of seducing a younger woman.

It is worth noting that advertising for ‘coloured cosmetics’ rarely appears in previous research on the image of elderly people in advertising.⁹ In this respect, some differences can be observed compared to the previous state of affairs. In the case of qualitative analysis, it is difficult to determine whether we are dealing with a marketing trend responding to market expectations or rather with a transitory fad for diversity (inclusivity). In advertisements for ‘coloured cosmetics’, the elderly woman is one of the consumers – she presents, for example, the foundation colour range (Estee Lauder: Double Wear Stay‑in‑Place Makeup, 2019). I have failed to find a single spot where a woman is presented as the only representative of the target group. In this respect, companies continue to behave conservatively.

Going further, the advertisements for jewellery were not taken into consideration in the research on the image of old age in advertising. Meanwhile, in the collected material, we have spots in which elderly people appear. They are not always main heroes or heroines; sometimes they stand on the sidelines, constitute the background for other actors’ statements or appear contextually (see W. Kruk, 2020); however, this is already a clear change compared to previous experiences. An elderly person is no longer just a consumer of medicines or dietary supplements, a confirmation of food product quality, or a person longing for youth in cosmetics advertisements. An elderly person is portrayed as an equal member of society, a person enjoying life, a playmate, and a restaurant‑goer.

An advertisement of the jewellery brand Yes features diametrically different figures of mature women. On the one hand, we see a woman whose physical characteristics come to the fore: long grey hair, combed back, and wrinkles. The woman is clearly dissatisfied with what she has just seen – a young woman breastfeeding a child in an art gallery – she is bitter, not very empathetic. On the other hand, another elderly woman, also grey‑haired, is shown; her distinguishing feature is a colourful new tattoo. The woman is happy, joyful, sociable, family‑minded, with a positive attitude towards herself and others, oriented towards new experiences. We can say little about the former woman and much more about the latter, which proves that the positive image of the elderly is the essence of the advertising message (Yes: I Am a Woman, 2021).

In the ad that followed (Yes: I Am a Woman. I Am the Future, 2022), we see a woman transforming throughout life, constantly accompanied by the brand’s jewellery – we see her grow up, mature socially, grow older, and become a member of a government composed of women. In Yes’s world, men no longer exist, which is obviously not a surprise due to the brand’s main target group; however, the feminist narrative distorts, to a certain degree, the image of the complexity of the social world. Likewise is true in the case for the advertisement of Sally Hansen nail polish where women create a ‘shetopia’ (Sally Hansen: Self‑Made Beauty, 2018).

Conclusion

It is obvious that a change in the attitude to old age – as the period of life in which a person is likely to live the longest – requires consistent and long‑term action. Currently, in advertising, not only has old age become more visible, it has also become more diverse. What we are now observing may have a real impact on the perception of old age in society. Since its appearance in the media space in Poland, advertising had been using a stereotypical image of old age: on the one hand, calm, stable, spent in the bosom of the family, on the other – sad, boring, full of sickness and worry. Among these commercial spots began to sprout others, showing a completely different image of old age – full of new experiences, self‑acceptance, and love. The image is no longer monolithic, one‑dimensional, or closed. What old age might mean is not so obvious anymore.

Certainly, it is the image of women’s old age that prevails in modern advertising – as it is mainly women that are now coming to the fore. A woman no longer hides certain signs of her biological age (grey hair, wrinkles, or menopause), because the metric age is neither an issue nor anything to be ashamed of it – we accept age, but do not yet accept old age. The cognitive age (how old I feel) is definitely younger than how old the person actually is. A senior is no longer just a grandmother or grandfather who dresses their ‘appropriate’ age – they wear whatever they want, breaking with stereotypical concepts of what is appropriate. An elderly person is no longer just someone focused on other people’s (e. g., children’s or grandchildren’s) needs and expectations – instead, they begin to think about their own needs, love, self‑realisation. Currently, a senior’s social age is shifted by many years – old age begins somewhere after eighty.