Introduction
A stereotype has been described as ‘an exaggerated belief associated with a category … its function is to justify our conduct in relation to that category’ (Allport Reference Allport1954: 191). The essence of this definition is that stereotypes ‘exaggerate and homogenise’ the characteristics of a group and serve as ‘blanket generalisations for all individuals’ in that particular group (Pickering Reference Pickering2001: 10). Stereotypes can also influence an individual's perceptions, attitudes and behaviours toward another person or group, or dictate how well a person fits into a certain social group (Cuddy and Fiske Reference Cuddy, Fiske and Nelson2002). These perceptions and opinions are shaped by gender, race, religion, sexual orientation and age, but unlike most of the various social categories so described, old age is the one that most of us will eventually join, but nonetheless, ‘stereotyping people by their age goes largely unchallenged and even unnoticed in the United States' (Cuddy and Fiske Reference Cuddy, Fiske and Nelson2002: 3).
Stereotypes generally result from a lack of information or misinformation about a group as a whole or about individuals in the group. Miller et al. (Reference Miller, Miller, McKibbin and Pettys1999: 321) stated, ‘negative stereotypes of the elderly have been described as generalizations and over-simplifications of characteristics of elderly individuals that produce demeaning and ridiculing portraits of the group’. Among the most commonly held negative stereotypes of older individuals, it is held that ‘older adults are senile, and their memories are failing, their personalities are becoming more rigid, they are often depressed, they are lonely, and isolated, and their adult children have abandoned them or “warehoused them into nursing homes”’ (Field and Gueldner Reference Field and Gueldner2001: 21; see also Schmidt and Boland Reference Schmidt and Boland1986; Hummert Reference Hummert1990).
The purpose of the study was to determine how negative, stereotypical images of older people were perceived by a group of older people (aged 55 or more years) and a group of younger college students in the United States. A comparison was made between the two age groups to determine which of the negative portrayals were seen as the most offensive, and which the least offensive. Q-methodology sorts were employed to analyse and understand these perceptions, and personal interviews were conducted with each participant to discover their feelings and attitudes.
The stereotyping of older adults
Scholarly research on stereotypes of older people has provided mixed results. Early media research found that stereotypes of older people were negative (Tuckman and Lorge Reference Tuckman and Lorge1952, Reference Tuckman and Lorge1953), while later studies found that older people were portrayed more positively in television programmes and advertisements (Northcott Reference Northcott1975; Harris and Feinberg Reference Harris and Feinberg1977). Recent findings have been mixed but overall indicate that media stereotypes of older people are generally more negative than those of other population groups. In fact, Nosek, Banaji, and Greenwald (Reference Nosek, Banaji and Greenwald2002) determined, after administering the ‘Implicit Association Test’ (IAT) on the Internet to over 575,000 people, that stereotypes of older people were not only negative but also more negative than stereotypes of race and gender.
Signorielli and Bacue (Reference Signorielli and Bacue1999) examined the portrayal of older adults on prime-time television in United States from 1967 through 1997. Their results indicated that older individuals were under-represented and that far fewer older women appeared than older men. Older women were shown employed in professions that were less stereotyped, and although fewer in number, they were given more respect by younger people. Similar results were found in a recent study of the portrayal of older people in German prime-time television series (Kessler, Rakoczy and Staudinger Reference Kessler, Rakoczy and Staudinger2004). Older people were under-represented and ‘older women were no longer shown as caring housewives and grandmothers, but as unskilled working women who supported their acquaintances, relatives and friends’ (2004: 547). This study did find, however, that the majority of older characters were gainfully employed, in good health, involved in physical activity, and that they enjoyed high social prestige. An important conclusion was that in television representations, the ‘attributes of “old age” are mostly excluded’, and that older characters are portrayed as middle aged rather than elderly (2004: 545).
When examining the images of older people in magazine advertisements, scholars have found that the portrayals of older characters are less favourable than portrayals of young people (Bramlett-Solomon and Subramanian Reference Bramlett-Solomon and Subramanian1999; Harris and Feinberg Reference Harris and Feinberg1977; Peterson Reference Peterson1992). Even when the product is aimed at an older audience, older characters are portrayed in a somewhat undesirable manner (Peterson Reference Peterson1992; Robinson Reference Robinson1998). It has been shown that the most unfavourable portrayals of older adults are in advertisements aimed at a young audience (Robinson Reference Robinson1998). These findings reinforce the stereotype and misconceptions that society has placed on the aged, but more importantly this depiction may reinforce the image seniors have of themselves (Kessler, Rakoczy and Staudinger Reference Kessler, Rakoczy and Staudinger2004; Peterson Reference Peterson1992).
Older people's perception of negative images in advertising
Two seminal studies from the 1980s came to completely different conclusions when examining older individuals' responses to their portrayal in advertising (Festervand and Lumpkin Reference Festervand, Lumpkin, Leigh and Martin1985; Schreiber and Boyd Reference Schreiber and Boyd1980). Schreiber and Boyd found that older individuals were happy with their portrayal in advertising and that they believed the actors were shown realistically. Festervand and Lumpkin, on the other hand, found that older individuals did not enjoy the portrayal of older people in television commercials because they appeared mostly in health-care or medicine-related advertisements, and that they were portrayed as inactive, unproductive and lonely. These contrasting results indicate a clear need for additional research.
In a recent study, Robinson et al. (Reference Robinson, Popovich, Gustafson and Fraser2003) found that older people were influenced more by the images than the messages in advertisements. The researchers determined that older people were more positively influenced by an advertisement when the image included a physically attractive or active older individual, even if the message was negative or fear-laden. They also found that seniors were offended by images that showed them as out of touch, as the objects of ridicule, as having undesirable personality traits (e.g. nosey, despondent, overly sentimental and grouchy), or as comic foils for the purpose of attracting younger buyers. Older adults were outspoken in their dislike of such practices, and they had a strong understanding of the ramifications of these images among seniors and young people: such images may make them feel vulnerable, insecure, misunderstood, exploited and powerless (Robinson et al. Reference Robinson, Popovich, Gustafson and Fraser2003).
Studies have indicated that individuals who consider themselves the target of negative media stereotyping report feeling diminished in the eyes of others and experience lower self-esteem (Korzenney and Neuendorf Reference Korzenney and Neuendorf1980; Johnson and Pittinger Reference Johnson and Pittinger1984; Montepare and Lachman Reference Montepare and Lachman1989). There is also evidence that older people who are heavy viewers of negatively stereotyped television programmes are more likely to believe that older people are closed-minded, ineffective and dull (Gerbner et al. Reference Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli and Morgan1980). These negative stereotypes not only affect older people, but they can also have a profound effect on how younger people feel about older people and the prospect of growing old (Blunk and Williams Reference Blunk and Williams1997; Falchikov Reference Falchikov1990; Glover, Baffi and Redican Reference Glover, Baffi and Redican1981; Isaacs and Bearison Reference Isaacs and Bearison1986; Middlecamp and Gross Reference Middlecamp and Gross2002; Okoye and Obikeze Reference Okoye and Obikeze2005; Seefeldt Reference Seefeldt1987).
Young people's perception of negative images of older people
Researchers believe that individual attitudes toward older people are learned social responses that are a result of the culture as well as their experiences (e.g. having little contact with older people) (Kocarnik and Ponzetti Reference Kocarnik and Ponzetti1991; Kupetz Reference Kupetz1993). Studies of the ways in which children perceive older people have shown that even those of elementary-school age have already developed negative stereotypes of older people (Isaacs and Bearison Reference Isaacs and Bearison1986). Other researchers discovered that while attending school, children and adolescents are exposed to negative stereotypes of old age, and it has been consistently found that these affect the ways in which children describe older people and what they feel about the prospect of growing old (Blunk and Williams Reference Blunk and Williams1997; Falchikov Reference Falchikov1990; Hausdorff, Levy and Wei Reference Hausdorff, Levy and Wei1999; Isaacs and Bearison Reference Isaacs and Bearison1986; Middlecamp and Gross Reference Middlecamp and Gross2002; Seefeldt Reference Seefeldt1987; Seefeldt and Ahn Reference Seefeldt and Ahn1990).
When researchers investigated college students' perceptions of older people, the results were comparable to those obtained from children and adolescents. Kimuna, Knox and Zusman (Reference Kimuna, Knox and Zusman2005) surveyed 441 American college students about their perceptions of older people and ageing. The results indicated that college students have negative beliefs about old age, specifically that older people are less sexual, that they have more physical limitations, have less strength, that they have more money than others, and that the government should take care of the older population. Gellis, Sherman and Lawrence (Reference Gellis, Sherman and Lawrence2003) obtained similar results from questioning first-year social-work students. They learned that the students had developed negative perceptions of older people before they started the college programme. The students believed that older people were less productive, slower to adapt to change, had less independence, and were less optimistic.
Research has therefore clearly demonstrated that children, adolescents and college students have negative perceptions of older people, and that older adults dislike and are affected by these negative images. The questions addressed in this paper are, how do older people and college students perceive negative images of older people, and which of the negative images used in advertising do they find offensive and inoffensive? While this study does not specifically test media theories, it will be helpful to set out the theoretical framework that helps us to understand the effects of negative images on the views of different age groups.
Theories of media effects
‘Schema theory’ provides some explanation of how and why negative or offensive stereotypes affect individuals. Schemas are behavioural scripts or guides that we develop on the basis of our associations, from watching others, and from the media. Schemas help us understand the world by allowing us to infer features that we cannot immediately perceive. According to Schneider (Reference Schneider2004: 120), ‘stereotypes can be thought of, among other things, as schemas’. Schema theory deals with how we categorise people and events in our lives and how we then use those categories to draw inferences about those people and events. The theory assumes that we learn actively by constantly building and revising our schema with new information and knowledge. If a person is exposed to a particular media stereotype (i.e. older people are mean and grouchy), and their real-life experiences do not contradict that stereotype, then that schema will be maintained.
Another construct that helps explain the media's effects on society is ‘cultivation theory’. This theory contends that repeated exposure to stereotypical images cultivates beliefs, assumptions and common conceptions of societal facts and norms, and that such exposure influences individual conceptions of reality and standards, and our judgment, attitudes, thoughts and behaviour (Gerbner and Gross Reference Gerbner and Gross1976; Gerbner et al. Reference Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, Bryant and Zillmann1994). It suggests that individuals who are exposed to negative or offensive stereotypical portrayals of older individuals in the media could develop a distorted view of the realities of older people and old age. This is especially true if their real-life experiences are no different from those they see in the media. If this is the case, as many studies have suggested, then it is important to examine the media to determine which stereotypical images are the most negative and potentially harmful.
The research questions
Based on the literature review and the prevalence of negative advertising stereotypes, the research was guided by the following research questions:
RQ1: What are the perceptions of older adults and college-age students of negative stereotypes of older people in magazine advertisements?
RQ2: Which stereotypes of older people in magazine advertisements do older adults and college-age students find offensive and non-offensive?
Design and methods
To investigate the research questions, it was decided to concentrate on advertisements with negative images of older people because, as the literature review has shown, previous research indicates that these images have a negative effect on both younger and older people. It was further decided to compare the evaluations of stereotypes by young and older adults. The two age groups were selected to determine the similarities and differences in their perceptions of negative stereotypical images of older people in advertising. As Robinson (Reference Robinson1998) found that the most unfavourable portrayals of older adults are seen in advertisements that target a young audience, it was decided to study the views of college-aged students.
To examine the perceptions of different old-age stereotypes in magazine advertisements, Q-methodology was employed. It was introduced by William Stephenson in 1953, and later explained in his book, The Study of Behaviour (1953). The lynchpin of the methodology is a research tool called the Q-sort, which is a method by which participants rank or rate items (either statements or stimuli, e.g. symbols, pictures, or ads) that represent a particular domain of subjectivity, which Stephenson called a concourse. The concourse provides the raw material about which the Q-sort scores represent the evaluators' views. In the case of this research, the participants were instructed to array their rankings on a continuum that ranged from very positive to very negative (e.g. most agree, most disagree). Middle-range ranks are given for items that do not arouse strong feelings. As is usual, the ranks produced by our sample of participants approximated a normal distribution. Once the rankings are collected, the data are subjected to a Q-method computer software program, which uses factor analysis to generate factors (or patterns) of the reported perceptions. With the factors determined, the investigators return to the participants to interview them about why they chose to rank certain statements higher or lower than others. This additional information provides breadth and depth when interpreting the factors.
Because the purpose of this research was to examine the perceptions of negative stereotypical images in advertisements, it was first necessary to gather a representative sample of advertisements. Schmidt and Boland (Reference Schmidt and Boland1986) described eight negative stereotypes of older people: (1) eccentrics; (2) curmudgeons (grouchy; angry; uncooperative; nosey/peeping toms); (3) objects of ridicule or the brunt of the joke; (4) unattractive; (5) overly affectionate or sentimental; (6) out of touch with current/modern society; (7) overly conservative; and (8) afflicted (physically or mentally deficient). It was decided to identify 40 mass circulation, general audience American magazines that ran advertisements that best represented these eight stereotypes. The relevant advertisements in these 40 magazines were the concourse, as listed in Table 1. They were shown to 25 students from a senior-level advertising class who were trained in target-market analysis, message construction, advertising strategy, advertising analysis, the portrayal of older individuals, and the use of negative stereotypes in advertising. Each student was asked to evaluate independently the images in each advertisement and then to place them into one of the eight stereotype categories. The advertisements that appeared most often in each stereotype category formed the sample (or p-set) of 40 advertisements.
Table 1. Magazine advertisements and their stereotypes of older people
Notes: 1. Or saccharine or conservative. 2. Or senile or helpless.
Having chosen the advertisements for the Q-sorts, the two age-group samples were asked to evaluate the advertisements. The ‘older age group’ convenience sample consisted of 39 people aged 56–75 years who were recruited from middle- and upper-class senior centres, churches, and housing complexes in a western state of the USA (25 women, 14 men). The ‘young adult’ convenience sample contained 39 non-advertising major-course students aged 18–25 years who were recruited from a western USA university (21 women, 18 men). The participants were asked to sort the 40 advertisements by ranking them on a nine-point scale ranging from ‘most offensive’ (+4) to ‘least offensive’ (−4). The precise instruction was: ‘Please rank these advertisements from those you feel are the most offensive to you to those you feel are the least offensive to you’. Stephenson (Reference Stephenson1988) would have said that the act of sorting advertisements based on a set of constructs constitutes a psychological event for each subject – an event that can be measured systematically.
After the sorts were completed, the investigators conducted tape-recorded personal interviews with each of the subjects to allow them to explain their selections and evaluations, to probe their decision-making process, and to express their thoughts and feelings about the uses of stereotypes in advertising. The interviews used a structured questionnaire with the following questions: (1) Why did you select (those) two adverts as being most offensive? (2) Why did you select (those) two adverts as being the least offensive? (3) What three stereotypes do you believe are the most offensive to senior citizens? (4) Do you believe there is any harm to senior citizens or young people caused by portraying older people in a stereotypical manner? The average time for each student and older person to complete each Q-sort and interview was about 90 minutes.
The investigators tabulated the results of the Q-sorts using the PQMethod computer software program.Footnote 1 Two analyses were conducted. First, all of the Q-sorts from the older persons were analysed to determine the number of factors which best represented their patterns of subjectivity. Second, the Q-sorts from the young adult group were analysed in the same manner. In both analyses, researchers used principal components analysis to generate an unrotated factor matrix, which was then subjected to a varimax rotation. To qualify as a reportable factor, the criterion was at least two significant participant factor loadings at the 0.01 significance level.Footnote 2 Although the usual criterion for determining factors is a minimum eigenvalue, Robbins (2005: 213) says that using eigenvalues ‘may force the analyst to overlook theoretically and substantively important factors'. Once the factors were determined, the investigators compared the significant positive and negative z-scores for the advertisements that accompanied each factor. Those with a z-score greater than +/−1.0 were considered to be significant, and they represent the ‘most offensive’ (or ‘least offensive’) advertisements for each factor.Footnote 3
To determine which advertisements were significantly different on each factor, the investigators used factor rank scores for a particular advertisement. A factor rank score is the average of the rank scores made by the subjects. Factor rank scores ranged from +/−1 to a +/−4 for each advertisement. Factor rank scores that differed by +/−3 for each advertisement on each factor were considered significantly different. The labels and interpretations determined by the investigators for each factor were informed by the calculated z-scores, the factor rank scores of the participants' evaluations, and the participants' responses in the qualitative interviews.
Results
The Q-sort analysis produced two distinct groups of opinions concerning advertising stereotypes of older people among students and two distinct groups among older people (Table 2). Each factor in a Q-sort analysis represents a particular type of thinking or a distinct set of perceptions and attitudes toward a topic. The correlation between the two student factors was +0.06 and that between the two older person factors was +0.24. We will first review the students' results, then those from the older people, and then compare the two.
Table 2. Ratings of advertisements as offensive and inoffensive (z scores) for groups of assessors
Notes: Type of stereotype: A: Afflicted/child-like; C: Curmudgeon; E: Eccentric; O: Overly affectionate; R: Ridicule/joke; S: Traditional/saccharine; T: Out-of-touch; U: Unattractive.
Significance level: * Difference from the score of all other three groups significant at p<0.05.
The ‘Moralists’ (Students Factor 1)
The ratings of 21 students (11 male and 10 female) comprised Factor 1, and they were called ‘Moralists’ because their perceptions displayed a strong concern that using negative stereotypes is both offensive and potentially harmful. Overall they ranked the advertisements that used stereotypes which portrayed older people as objects of ridicule, out of touch and unattractive as most offensive. Nine advertisements were found particularly offensive (see Table 2). Four depicted older people as objects of ridicule or the brunt of a joke, and two portrayed them as being out of touch.
The student Moralists (Factor 1) and the older Moralists (Factor 2) reacted significantly differently to four advertisements. The first, a Dodge car advertisement, depicted an old man with a young bride. Second, an ACE.org advertisement featured an old woman smoking and drinking from an old-fashioned coffee-pot while ‘looking for a jolt of industry news’. Third, an advertisement for Candies Clothing showed a group of older people dressed like punk rockers. Fourth, an Old Spice advertisement showed an older, overly affectionate woman dancing with a young man. Two other advertisements that ridiculed older people were E! Fashion Emergency, which showed a ‘before’ picture of an older, unattractive woman and an ‘after’ picture of a young model, and an advertisement for Dreamcast that showed an older woman, apparently too slow to move, spray-painted with graffiti.
When the Moralists were asked to describe their feelings about the offensive advertisement stereotypes that they had selected, they often stated the stereotypes were ‘mean-spirited’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘disgusting’ and ‘harmful’. They felt older people were being exploited by exaggerated stereotypes that were used to make a joke and younger people laugh. Six advertisement stereotypes were ranked as inoffensive. The Moralists tended to see stereotypes that deal with real health and ageing problems facing older adults as inoffensive. While these advertisements still involved stereotyping – such as implying old people are sick, forgetful, not up to date, or unattractive – they deal with issues that older people regularly face.
The ‘Objectors’ (Student Factor 2)
Of the 10 students who best represented Factor 2 or the ‘Objectors’, five were female. This group rated four stereotypes as offensive and five as inoffensive. Interestingly, none of the selected offensive or inoffensive advertisements were the same as those selected by the Moralists. Factor 2 students were labelled ‘Objectors’ because they seemed to object to the fatalistic point of view that, as people grow old, certain health problems and idiosyncrasies arise. The two stereotypes that were significantly different from Factor I depicted older people who were afflicted with incontinence and immobility. An advertisement for Conseco insurance showed an old woman with a walker, wearing nightclothes while participating in a game-show to win health-insurance coverage. Another stereotype, in an advertisement for Creative stereo-speakers, portrayed an older woman as a curmudgeon banging on a ceiling with a broom-handle because a neighbour's music was too loud. Three of the five stereotypes ranked as inoffensive by the Objectors portrayed old people as eccentrics. Two advertisements were rated as significantly less offensive than by the student Moralists: that for Schmitt wine showed an older German man in a young woman's refrigerator; that for Adobe software shows an eccentric old woman riding a bike on a bridge cable. The depth interviews revealed that the Objectors recognised these portrayals as stereotypical, but felt they were generally true. Some described the advertisement visuals as featuring everyday people having fun. Others felt that older people were presented respectfully even though some of the situations were exaggerated and silly.
‘Ageing Moralists’ (Older People Factor 1)
Twenty-nine older people (10 men and 19 women) made ratings that were identified as Factor 1 and called ‘Ageing Moralists’ because their perception of offensive older stereotypes in advertising was similar to the Student Moralists. Seven of the eight advertisement stereotypes that they ranked as offensive were identical to those ranked offensive by the Student Moralists. Three advertisements in this group featured stereotypes that ridiculed and poked fun at older people, two portrayed old people as unattractive, and two others showed older people as being out of touch and overly affectionate. In the post Q-sort interviews, older people expressed serious concern about how their generation is characterised and demeaned just to make younger people laugh. They feel these characterisations are harmful to their self-esteem and adversely affect young people's perceptions of growing old. One older person said, ‘there's nothing wrong with getting old. So what if you're not beautiful; you can still enjoy a meaningful life’. Another observed, ‘combining old and young people's body parts is simply vulgar’. Many older people described the advertisement stereotypes as ‘vulgar’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘unhealthy’, ‘harmful’ and ‘truly offensive’.
The Ageing Moralists ranked eight advertisement stereotypes as inoffensive. Three of these advertisements were also selected by the Student Moralists; they featured three different stereotypes of older people, as unattractive (Belvedere Vodka), as afflicted (Merck), and as out of touch (Earthlink). Three others portrayed older people as afflicted, while the others used diverse stereotypes, including unattractive, overly affectionate, eccentric, out of touch, and ridiculous. While the stereotypes selected as inoffensive were inconsistent, overall these advertisements were serious and informative but there was one exception, an advertisement for TXU Electric and Gas that shows a man sitting in a recliner while walking his dog on a treadmill. The older evaluators felt these advertisements presented old people as being cute, clever and vibrant. One commented, ‘The person in the ad looks like a nice person just enjoying life’. Another observed, ‘The woman looks good for her age, which says she's taking good care of herself’. Many realised that stereotypes were being used but felt that the advertisements were informative and helpful; they were seen as treating older people with respect.
‘Resentfuls’ (Older People Factor 2)
Ten older people (5 men, 5 women) held interesting and extreme views that formed Factor 2 and were called ‘Resentfuls’. There was little consistency in their stereotype selection, but they found five different stereotypes offensive in eight advertisements. Their ratings of offensive and inoffensive advertisements seemed to derive from a view that when people grow old, they cross a generational divide, that there are ‘natural’ differences between generations that people should not attempt to cross or combine. For example, six of the eight offensive stereotypes featured role reversal, whereby younger people had body parts transposed with an older person, or older people were engaged in activities associated with young people. A Dodge car advertisement showed an old man with a young bride. A Candies clothing advertisement dressed up a group of old people as punk rockers. A Sea and Ski sun-block advertisement replaced a child's head with one of an old man. A Boss sound systems advertisement featured a grandmother singing and playing an electric guitar. One for Old Spice pictured an old woman dancing with and squeezing a young man, and one for Southwest Airlines showed an old lady dancing alone near a jukebox.
During the interviews, the Resentfuls commented that these stereotypes were ‘crude’, ‘gross’, ‘stupid’ and ‘not normal’. One older person said, ‘the advertisement suggests that seniors are hypocritical and are searching for their lost youth’. Another said, ‘it says that older people are mindless’, and another that, ‘having them act like teenagers and making them out to be ugly is ridiculous’. The Resentfuls ranked seven advertisements inoffensive, but again with little consistency, as five different stereotypes were represented. One advertisement rated significantly differently than by the older Moralists was that for Depend Fitted Briefs (Table 2). Stereotypes reflecting health issues – such as incontinence – which older people face are no surprise in this inoffensive group. Three stereotypes stood out in this group because they poked fun at older people. TXU ridiculed an old man sitting in a recliner while walking his dog on a treadmill. The Caboodles advertisement showed an old woman covering her husband's eyes so he could not look at a girl's legs. A Camel advertisement featured an old, curmudgeonly farmer with a shotgun guarding his daughter. One for Earthlink portrayed an older woman with her 30-something daughter as being out of touch with computer technology. The older people's descriptions of the non-offensive advertisements included ‘humorous’, ‘respectful’, ‘helpful information’ and ‘a genuine malady’. A representative comment was, ‘I have no problem with advertising helpful products and showing smiling, friendly people having fun’.
Discussion
The results of this investigation concur with those of an earlier study of older people's perceptions of advertising stereotypes of old people. Robinson et al. (Reference Robinson, Popovich, Gustafson and Fraser2003) found that older people were most offended by advertisements that portrayed them as being out of touch, unattractive and objects of ridicule. Inoffensive advertisements dealt with real problems that older people face and provided helpful information. Even though some of these advertisements used stereotypes, if older people were presented in a favourable manner, they were inoffensive. Older people also liked advertisements that showed them as clever, vibrant and having a sense of humour.
This analysis has compared 18–25 year-old college students' and older people's perceptions of stereotypes of older people in magazine advertisements. Factor analyses of the perceptions identified two sets of opinions. The Factor 1 set was held by sub-groups of both students and older people whom we have labelled Moralists. Seven of the eight advertisements ranked as offensive by the Older Moralists were also found offensive by the Student Moralists. The stereotypes in question ridiculed and poked fun at older people, or presented them as being out of touch and unattractive. Both age groups of Moralists rated stereotypes that dealt with the real problems of old age as inoffensive, while advertisements that portrayed older people respectfully and offered advice were viewed positively.
The other set of opinions represented more extreme points of view that differed for students and for older people. Students holding Factor 2 opinions were called Objectors, while older people holding the contrasting views were called Resentfuls. The stereotypes found offensive by the Student Objectors seemed to resent the fatalistic view that, as people grow old, they are invariably afflicted with illness, senility and immobility. This group found inoffensive those stereotypes that poked fun at older people in a light-hearted way, or that portrayed them as eccentric and saccharine. The Older Resentfuls presented the most extreme and consistent point of view. Resentfuls were most offended by stereotypes that showed older people as unattractive, overly affectionate or pursuing activities associated with youth. Examples were advertisements that showed an old man with a young bride and sports car, older people dressed as punk rockers, an old woman playing rock guitar, and an old woman dancing alone near a jukebox. All seemed to ridicule older people searching for their lost youth. Among the four groups of evaluators, the Resentfuls made the strongest criticisms of offensive stereotypes. They felt that presenting old people as mindless and ugly was wrong and harmful to society.
The findings show that younger people are aware of the stereotypes used to portray older people and that they understand how those images offend and can be harmful to older people. One student's observation summarised the sentiments of many: ‘these negative images in the media may affect the way young people treat the elderly’. Another student said, ‘the more the stereotypes are shown the more people will believe the elderly are really like this’. It is clear that young people are aware of the harm that portraying older individuals in an unrealistic, stereotypical manner may have on seniors and young people alike.
Product and service marketers should note that both older people and students are aware that advertising stereotypes often portray old people inappropriately. The majority of students and older people in this analysis believe offensive stereotypes of old people are harmful to both young and old. They believe these stereotypes can lower older people's self-esteem and create negative perceptions of older people among young people. The major viewpoints uncovered in this study echo those found in previous studies by Peterson (Reference Peterson1992), Robinson (Reference Robinson1998), and Robinson et al. (Reference Robinson, Popovich, Gustafson and Fraser2003), and more generally the findings are consistent with previous research that has suggested that stereotyping of any generation or group of people may have potentially harmful unintended effects (Palmore Reference Palmore1990; Davis and Davis Reference Davis and Davis1985; Hummert Reference Hummert1990; Korzenney and Neuendorf Reference Korzenney and Neuendorf1980; Gerbner et al. Reference Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli and Morgan1980; Hausdorff et al. Reference Hausdorff, Levy and Wei1999). The advertising industry should be as concerned about its social esteem as with its selling effectiveness. In the long run, the two are inextricably related. Advertisers are increasingly facing criticism about the possible unintended negative effects of their messages from special interest groups, minorities and the US federal government. If the industry fails to address their use of older negative stereotypes, they risk alienating the rapidly growing older market and dissuading younger consumers.
