ASA launch study into depiction of older people in advertising

The ASA has commissioned research to test public views on how older people are portrayed in advertisements. The ASA will consider how such portrayals may impact public attitudes and actions, the extent to which older people feel targeted by certain types of ads, and the consequences of this. The outcome will be published in 2025, guiding any necessary next steps for the ASA.

This subject, and the ASA’s ongoing work in this area, is particularly relevant to firms dealing with types of insurance where age is a factor, for example, medical insurance, personal protection insurance, travel insurance, and over-50s life cover. 

UK Advertising Codes require advertisers to prepare ads with a sense of responsibility, and prohibit ads from causing serious or widespread offence, especially on the grounds of protected characteristics, one of which is age.

However, the UK’s population is ageing, leading to an increased risk of advertisements causing harm or widespread offence to this demographic. According to data by the Centre for Aging Better, In the last 40 years, the number of people aged 50 and over has increased by 47% to over 6.8 million, and the number aged 65 and over has increased by 52% to over 3.5 million.

Advice & guidance for firms on depiction of older people in advertisements

To date, there have been a limited number of complaints made to the ASA regarding portrayals of older people in advertisement.

However, in 2014 the ASA received complaints about a poster selling electronic cigarettes, which featured an older white woman with an electronic cigarette sitting beside a younger black man with text stating "NO TOBACCO. NO TABOO". The ASA ruled that the ad was likely to cause serious or widespread offence to those with protected characteristics race and age as it implied that interracial and intergenerational relationships were socially unacceptable or ‘taboo’.

The ASA’s ruling and advice emphasises that ads should avoid making offensive generalisations or attaching negative associations to older people, such as implying that they are ‘senile, pitiable, or incapable of carrying out certain tasks’, as this serves to perpetuate false stereotypes and undermine the identity and lived experience of older people.

The ASA also warns against using potentially offensive clichés regarding age in an attempt to be humorous, emphasising that it will consider how viewers may interpret an ad when reviewing complaints.

Just as negative portrayals of older people as frail and vulnerable can further ageist attitudes, equally, depictions of older people as affluent, fit or happy in an overexaggerated, unrealistic way, can also misrepresent and exclude older people who may be impoverished or in ill-health.

To avoid causing offence or replicating problematic stereotypes, firms may wish to revisit the ASA’s guidance, consult with national age-related charities, and examine the findings of the ASA’s ongoing when they are released in 2025.