Recent research from CreativeX, a prominent creative ad tech firm, shows that, in 2022, only 4% of people featured in ads worldwide were aged 60 or older.
This discovery comes from an analysis using CreativeX's technology, which looked at over 126,000 ads featuring more than 25,000 individuals. These ads spanned industries like CPG, Food and Beverage, Healthcare, and Alcohol, with a combined ad spending of over $124 million in 2022. The analysis involved gathering various data sets, including gender, age group, skin tone, and the setting of each person in the ads
Older audiences neglected in the advertising landscape
The results of this study highlight a problem where brands seem to overlook older audiences, missing out on a potentially profitable market. Despite people aged 60 and above making up 23% of the UK population and holding around 25% of global spending power, only 3% of digital media budgets are allocated to ads aimed at this group.
Digging deeper into the data shows a noticeable bias in how older adults are portrayed in ads. A significant 65% of these portrayals place older people in family or home settings. Even though the average retirement age is 65 and rising, less than 1% of older adults are shown in professional or leadership roles in ads.
Intersection between gender and age disparities
Previous research by CreativeX also highlighted gender disparities in ads, and this gap becomes more pronounced for individuals aged 60 and above. Women aged 60 and older comprised less than 2% of all individuals in ads. While 10% of women aged 26 to 59 were shown in leadership or professional roles in ads, this number dropped to under 1% for women aged 60 and older.
Anastasia Leng, CreativeX's Founder and CEO, explains that these findings reflect the ongoing problem of ads not accurately representing our diverse society. Leng emphasizes that while these results might not be surprising to many, the ability to measure and track casting and storytelling decisions with such precision and speed is a significant technological achievement. This progress marks a crucial step towards achieving better creative inclusivity and producing ads that are more reflective of society.