In recent times, the ASA has noticed an increase in discussions about the portrayal of older people in the media, including in advertising. As a consequence of this, and in order to understand the public’s perspective on how older people are depicted in ads, the ASA commissioned Strat7 Jigsaw to conduct a mixed-methodology study.
The primary focus of the research was to understand to what extent, and how, certain depictions of older people in ads can give rise to offence and/or harm. The study combined qualitative (focus groups and one-to-one interviews) and quantitative (a survey of over 4,000 individuals) research, conducted across the four nations of the UK.
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