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The Representation of Elderly Persons in Prime Time Television Advertising
University of South
Florida
School
of Mass Communications
Masters
Thesis -Meredith Tupper-November
1995
"How this country
thinks of older people and relates to older people,
and how older people think of themselves
...
is directly affected by what is put
on television."
Jeff Sagansky CBS Entertainment Chief
(1)
INTRODUCTION
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
METHODOLOGY
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
LIST OF REFERENCES FOOTNOTES
INTRODUCTION
Background of the
Problem
"Where's the beef?" "Clap on!
Clap off!" "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up."
Few phenomena penetrate the American social psyche quicker
than television commercials. Ever since Wendy's Hamburgers' own Clara Peller
complained about the competition's skimpy sandwiches, older people have
established a memorable presence in American television commercials. However,
one need look no further than the father of cultivation theory, George
Gerbner, to confirm that a memorable presence in television may not always
be an accurate one. Gerbner (1993) discusses the powerful impact that television
makes on our culture: Mass media are the most ubiquitous wholesalers
of social roles in industrial societies. Mass media, particularly television,
form the common mainstream of contemporary culture. They present a steady,
repetitive, and compelling system of images and messages. For the first
time in human history, most of the stories are told to most of the children
not by their parents, their school, or their church but by a group of distant
corporations that have something to sell. This unprecedented condition
has a profound effect on the way we are socialized into our roles, including
age as a social role ... The world of aging (and nearly everything else)
is constructed to the specifications of marketing strategies (p. 207).
The world of aging portrayed in the mass media has not
traditionally been an enjoyable or positive one. Dail (1988) states that
elderly
populations suffer from negative stereotyping more than any other identifiable
social group. She argues that preconceived notions about cognition, physical
ability, health, sociability, personality, and work capability perpetuate
these negative stereotypes. Indeed, in American culture, increasing age
seems to portend decreasing value as a human being. Mass media scholar
Joshua Meyrowitz (1985) offers some insight into this devaluation. Old
people today are generally not appreciated as experienced "elders" or possessors
of special wisdom; they are simply seen as sometimes remaining competent
enough to be included in the unitary role category of "active citizen."
Old people are respected to the extent that they can behave like young
people, that is, to the extent that they remain capable of working, enjoying
sex, exercising and taking care of themselves (p. 153).
How did the American culture develop such blatant
disregard and disrespect for the elderly? Gerontologists Butler,
Lewis and Sunderland (1990) suggest the following causes:
A number of factors have
had a negative influence on U.S. attitudes toward old age:
1. A history of mass immigration, still ongoing, mostly
consisting of the young leaving the elderly behind in Europe and
Asia.
2. A nation founded on principles of individualism,
independence, and autonomy.
3. The development of technologies that demand rapid
change and specialized skills.
4. A general devaluation of tradition.
5. Increased mobility of the population within a large
continental space.
6. Medical advances that have relegated most deaths
to later life, producing a tendency to associate death with old
age.
All these have made it difficult to embrace old age
itself as a valued and contributory phase of life (p. 30).
A medium like television, known for its emphasis
on youth and beauty, fast motion and quick edits, condensed time and simplistic
portrayals, is bound to exacerbate a potentially negative or even non-existent
image of the elderly on television. According to the U.S. Bureau
of Census (1990), the number of elderly Americans has grown measurably
since 1970; in 1988, 12.7% of the U.S. population was 65 years old or older,
up from 9.8% in 1970. Yet even as the wave of graying baby boomers swells,
recent studies (Swayne and Greco, 1987; Dail, 1988; Vasil and Wass, 1993;
Bailey, Harrell and Anderson, 1993) show that purveyors of mass media continue
to misrepresent or underrepresent elders. Both Moore and Cadeau (1985)
and Swayne and Greco (1987) examined the portrayals of elderly in
television commercials, and both found underrepresentation of elderly
persons and significant underrepresentation of elderly women
in proportion to elderly men. Advertisers ignore older consumers
or perpetuate negative stereotypes, thereby alienating a large market segment
with powerful economic clout. According to Ken Dychtwald, author of Age
Wave: The Challenges and Opportunities of an Aging America (1988),
ignoring the elderly market is an expensive mistake. "Although
they represent only 25 percent of the total U.S. population, Americans
over 50 now have a combined annual personal income of over $800 billion
and control 70 percent of the total net worth of U.S. households -- nearly
$7 trillion of wealth" (p. 268).
Yet for all this power, Dychtwald points out
that "Madison Avenue has constructed a smoke screen of myths about the
older consumer that have kept most businesses away from this potentially
powerful market. We have been led to believe that all older people are
poor and cannot afford to purchase new products or services, even if they
want to." Further, he states, "And we have been told over and over
that older men and women are fanatically loyal to their brands and too
set in their ways for advertisers to bother marketing to them" (p. 270).
Clearly, to capture this market, both advertising strategy and portrayals
of the elderly consumer will have to change. Beyond the realm of
economics, however, lies a deeper concern: the social effect that such
advertising stereotypes have on television viewers. Mass media effects
theories provide ample cause for concern that repeated exposure to commercials
which carry a negative subtext may lead to the overall devaluation of the
elderly. By representing elders as feeble, absent-minded, stubborn,
and helpless, or by simply not representing elders at all, the subtle effects
may accumulate and add to the estranged social conditions many older Americans
face today. Swayne and Greco state, "Television advertising, because
of its ability to influence and shape attitudes, can play a major role
in the socialization of the elderly and in influencing younger audiences'
view of older persons. By featuring active elderly spokespersons,
commercial messages should, over time, provide positive role models and
cues to the elderly and also help to reduce the negative stereotypes
of the aged" (p. 47).
Statement of the
Problem
Studies on portrayals of elderly in the mass media
abound in academia. Some report a negative stereotype of the elderly
(Aronoff, 1974; Northcott, 1975; Harris and Feinberg, 1977; Gerbner, Gross,
Signorielli and Morgan, 1980; Bishop and Krause, 1984). Others report no
specific negative images but a consistent underrepresentation of elderly
in proportion to total population, and underrepresentation of elderly
women in proportion to elderly men (Cassata, Anderson and Skill,
1980; Elliot, 1984; Swayne and Greco, 1987). Moore and Cadeau (1985)
also examined the issue of race by measuring frequency of appearance of
visible minorities, and found significant underrepresentation. To this
end, Butler, Lewis and Sunderland (1990) point out some interesting statistics
cited here for purposes of comparison. "Florida has the highest population
of elderly, with 17.7% of its population comprised of older (60+)
residents"(p. 15).
"Elderly women outnumber elderly
men three to two. In 1986, for every 100 women aged 65-69, there were only
83 men in that same age group. The ratio continues to widen with age, with
only 40 men per 100 women in the 85-plus category" (p. 11). "Although
they comprise more than 12% of the total population, African-Americans
make up only 8% of the older age group" (p. 12). The authors go on
to explain that African-Americans suffer a higher mortality rate
during the beginning and middle of the life span, leaving fewer of them
to include in the 65-plus population. "The Hispanic population totaled
19.4 million, accounting for 8.1% of the total population, by March 1988.
By the year 2000 their numbers will reach 30 million, or 15% of the total
population. Currently, 5% of the Hispanic population is 65 years
or older" (p. 21). While Moore and Cadeau (1985) examined the image of
the elderly in television commercials including the element of race,
their study was limited to Canadian broadcast television. Swayne and Greco's
1987 study is the most recent one conducted in the U.S., but the authors
did not code for racial or cultural differences.
This study will update previously published research
regarding the image and representation of elderly in television
commercials, and will examine the following research questions:
1. What is the percentage of
elderly
people in prime time television commercials compared to the percentage
of elderly in the U.S. population?
2. What is the ratio of elderly
females to elderly males in prime time television commercials as
compared to previously cited ratios of elderly females
to elderly males in the U.S. population?
3. What is the percentage of
elderly
African-Americans presented in prime time television commercials?
4. What is the percentage of
elderly
Hispanics presented in prime time television commercials?
5. What is the percentage of
visible non-Anglo minorities (such as Asians, American Indians, or Middle
Easterners) presented in prime time television commercials?
6. What types of negative, unflattering
or stereotypical images of elderly people (feeble, absent-minded,
slow, stubborn, etc.) appear in prime time television commercials?
In the complex American society, the dissolution of the
nuclear family leaves the elderly alone, abandoned and sometimes
abused. As federal funding for Medicare and Social Security benefits is
slashed to new lows, many older Americans have nowhere to turn for help,
and society offers very few alternatives. Americans are not taught to respect,
revere and care for the aged in our society; in fact, we are taught that
age is something to ridicule, avoid and ignore whenever possible. Television
advertising certainly plays a part in this learning process; Vasil and
Wass note, "Negative stereotyping of the elderly circumscribes
their potential by placing emphasis on the unproductive and unsuccessful
older person and may become a self-fulfilling prophecy limiting capacities
and experiences of aged persons. Negative stereotyping and ageism
not only affect the elderly but also create negative expectations,
fear, and dread of aging in the young" (p. 71).
The images of elderly people on culturally-focused
networks such as Telemundo, Univision, and BET (Black Entertainment
Television) warrant further investigation regarding cultural differences
in the portrayals and percentages. Due to language barriers and difficulties
in drawing an appropriate sample, however, only ABC, CBS, NBC and
Fox networks will be monitored during prime time weekday programming.
REVIEW
OF THE LITERATURE
A considerable amount of research has been published on
the image of the elderly in mass media. These studies include content
analyses of television programming and commercials, magazine advertisements,
newspaper articles, children's magazines, books and basal readers, and
even greeting cards. Of the studies involving television and magazine portrayals,
samples were drawn from a variety of environments, such as prime time television
programming, daytime dramas, and children's shows, or full page magazine
ads, cartoons, and ads from culturally-focused publications like Ebony.
Almost every study reported that the elderly are underrepresented
in mass media, and those studies which examined gender found that elderly
women were consistently misrepresented in proportion to their true percentage
of the U.S. population. Negative portrayals of the elderly
were revealed less often than one might expect, perhaps due, in part, to
the difficulty of establishing objective criteria by which to judge negative,
neutral and positive representations. One recent analysis (Bell, 1992)
of prime time drama title sequences featuring elderly leading roles
showed an improved overall image of the elderly portrayed by these
leading characters; for the first time in American television prime time
serial dramas, elders appeared "powerful, affluent, healthy, active, admired
and sexy" (p. 305). Similarly, Dail (1988) found that characters appearing
older than 55 years of age were portrayed more favorably than those who
appeared to be in early old age, near age 55 or less. Cassata, Anderson
and Skill (1980) examined images of the elderly in daytime serials
and also reported a positive overall image. However, the older studies
in this literature review (Aronoff, 1974; Northcott, 1975; Harris and Feinberg,
1977; Gerbner, Gross, Signorielli and Morgan, 1980; Bishop and Krause,
1984) show a markedly negative portrayal. Moore and Cadeau (1985)
and Swayne and Greco (1987) found significantly fewer instances of unflattering
or stereotypical images on television, but still reported underrepresentation,
especially with regard to elderly women. Bailey, Harrell and
Anderson's 1993 analysis of older women in print ads found that representations
varied with publication, and reported an unfavorable portrayal of older
women specifically in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
This literature review focuses on content analyses of the elderly
in a variety of mass media, emphasizing television commercial portrayals.
As noted in Chapter Three, applicable methodologies are proposed for use
in this study.
Television Portrayals
of the Elderly in Programs
Peterson (1973) examined the portrayals of elderly
people in prime time programming, looking specifically at frequency of
appearance, image portrayed by use of contrasting pairs of attributes,
and gender representation. The researcher concluded that the representation
of the elderly is proportionate to population statistics at the
time, but reported underrepresentation of older women. The image of men
was considered "generally favorable," (p. 573) whereas no specific image
of women was reported. The methodology seems questionable, as the researcher
failed to establish firm criteria for identifying elderly people
in the first place, and used relatively vague attribute pairs such as "nice/awful"
to measure image.
Aronoff (1974) examined a total of 2741 characters
in prime time television programming, and reported a negative image of
the elderly, as well as underrepresentation of elders overall (4.9%)
and also of elderly women. Only 40% of older characters
were portrayed in a positive manner, described as successful, happy and
good.
Northcott (1975) studied 464 characters appearing
in prime time television programming, and found a negative image of aging
and the elderly overall. A majority of the older characters appeared
in minor roles. Of remarks and references to aging, negative comments
were made more often than positive ones. Only 1.5% of the total population
appeared to be elderly.
Bishop and Krause (1981) examined 378 characters
on children's Saturday morning cartoons, finding that the elderly
appeared to make up approximately 7% of the total cartoon population. No
figures for the representation of older women are reported. An overall
negative image is manifested mostly through comments referring to decline
and deterioration in old age.
Wober and Gunter's 1982 project was intended
to solicit public opinion in London regarding the image of elderly
on British television programs. The authors mailed out questionnaires and
viewing diaries to participants in the London ITV region, asking them to
view one week's worth of programming, complete the dairies and questionnaires,
and return them. Of the 339 respondents, categories were developed
regarding age, gender, race, and socio-economic class. Results indicated
that British viewers did not see misrepresentation nor negative imaging
of the
elderly in programming. The researchers did notice,
however, that viewers felt the image of elderly in fictional programs
(comedies and action/ adventure shows) was less respectful than that
seen in news, documentaries and game shows. Overall, the authors
stated that conclusions published by Gerbner and Aronoff in the U.S. were
not supported in Britain.
Conducted in part due to methodological flaws
in Cassata, Anderson and Skill's 1980 study, Elliot's 1984 work examined
a population almost twice that of the previous study. From a sample of
723 characters, the author found that elderly characters constituted
only 8% of the total population. Evidence was presented to show underrepresentation
of elderly women in proportion to elderly men, and
an overall neutral image of the elderly was described. The
author also set forth more specific criteria for identifying elderly
characters, and surveyed programming for a longer period of time than Cassata,
et al.
Dail (1988) examined 193 older adult characters
in 12 family-oriented prime time television programs, categorizing cognitive,
physical and health status, social interaction and emotional behavior.
The author did not present figures for the representation of the
elderly in proportion to the total population, nor did she
present figures on the representation of elderly women in
proportion to elderly men. The author did, however, note the
responses by other characters to verbalizations made by elderly
characters. The emerging overall portrayal was seen as a positive
one, which the author attributed to recent marketing research acknowledging
the economic strength of the older American population.
Bell's 1992 content analysis of the opening credit
sequences for five prime time television dramas featuring elderly
central characters revealed an improving picture of the elderly
on television. The author examined the title sequences (the opening
montage of shots which accompany the credits in American television
drama) of Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Matlock, Jake and the
Fatman, and In the Heat of the Night, during the 1989 season.
The author brings to light an interesting fact heretofore unmentioned:
A. C. Neilsen (the media research company responsible for gathering TV
ratings data for marketing use) does not collect specific data for viewing
habits of audiences 65 years old and up, despite the fact that adults over
55 watch more television than any other audience segment. The author supports
the assertion that
elderly women are still underrepresented in television
programming.
Television Portrayals
of the Elderly in Commercials
Francher (1973) examined popular television commercials
and the messages contained or implied in the subtext. From a total sample
of 100 commercials, the author reported that only 2% of the commercials
showed any elderly characters at all. The author addressed the fact
that age is indeed accelerated in these advertising campaigns, implying
that once a person has reached a non-telegenic age, he or she might be
considered
elderly even before reaching a similar chronological
milestone.
Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli (1981)
stated that the underrepresentation of elderly on television is
no accident; it mirrors the income distribution of the U.S. economic strata.
In short:
"Women may do most of the buying and older Americans may have
significant purchasing and investment clout, but men earn and the
middle-aged groups spend most of the money in this country."
(p. 208) The average age of characters in primetime television commercials
was approximately 30-35 years old. The elderly fared even worse,
predictably, in weekend daytime programming, as the average age of characters
in commercials then peaked at between five and ten years old, falling sharply
during teen years, peaking slightly for parent-figures at 35-40 and tapering
to almost none, even for grandparent-figures. Further, women appear to
age faster than men in commercials, and women disappear into old
age invisibility between 40-45 years of age, as opposed to men, who fade
slowly to less than 5% of all characters by age 55 and over. Personality
profiles showed that elderly women were both more repulsive and
peaceful than younger females. Elderly men were seen as less fair,
rational, and happy than those of younger age groups.
Moore and Cadeau (1985) analyzed 1733 television
commercials on three Toronto TV stations over 8 weeks in 1983. This study
paid special attention to the gender of the voice-over talent, stating
that the off-camera, disembodied nature of the voice lends it an authority
or expertise, oftentimes literally having the last word in commercials.
88% of all voice-overs were male, implying that women are not authoritative,
and that even when women appear on-screen, they cannot think for themselves,
in their own voices. Only 2% of all commercials featured elderly characters,
and even then, elderly males outnumbered elderly females
two to one. Less than 4% of all commercials featured visible minorities,
and less than 1% showed elderly minorities.
Swayne and Greco's 1987 study examined 36 hours
of prime time programming from three U.S. networks for a total sample of
814 commercials. The authors coded the total number of people in each ad,
the number of elderly people in each ad, the role (major, minor,
or background) of the elderly people in each ad, the type of character
portrayed by the
elderly (advisor, information receiver, comical
/humorous, or feeble/ confused), the positioning of the elderly
with other age groups (appearing alone, with other elderly, with
children only, or with various age groups), the setting of the commercial
(home, outdoor, business or other), and the intended audience (elderly
alone, caretakers, or general appeal). Of all ads monitored, only
6.9% had elderly characters at all; in proportion to the total TV
commercial population, only 3.2% were elderly characters. Women
appeared more frequently than men by a slight margin, about 4%. Elderly
were most likely to appear in food commercials (36%), and least likely
to appear in ads for security items (2%). They appeared 56% of the time
in home settings, and only 8% of the time in outdoor settings.
Of note, this study did not examine the issue of race, which the proposed
study would examine.
Portrayals of the
Elderly
in Children's and Adolescent Literature
Of all the young reader studies presented in this literature
review, Peterson and Karnes' 1976 work was the only one that found elderly
characters presented in true proportion to their percentage of the population.
Fifty three books were analyzed, showing the elderly in mostly minor,
underdeveloped roles (only 15% were considered major, and only 4.6 pieces
of information were available on each elderly character) with no
reported negative slant to the portrayals. Elderly women were
underrepresented.
Ansello (1977) examined 656 picture books and
children's starter books. A disproportionately high percentage
(16.5%) of the characters were portrayed as elderly, despite continued
underrepresentation of elderly female characters. Most were
relegated to minor roles cast in an unfavorable light; the terms little,
old, and ancient constituted 85% of all physical descriptions
of the
elderly characters.
In a survey of 100 children's books, Barnum (1977)
found only 3.3% of the characters were elderly. Older women were
underrepresented.
Elderly characters appeared in mostly minor roles,
and the overall image of the elderly characters appeared to be underdeveloped
and negative.
Robin (1977) analyzed four series of children's
basal readers for a total of 80 books. Only 5.6% of the characters were
classified as elderly, and elderly women were underrepresented.
However, the author did find elderly characters in major roles,
and no evidence of negative stereotyping was found. Character development
was judged to be poor.
Kingston and Drotter (1981) coded a series of
six basal readers and found a total of 188 elderly characters in
mostly positive portrayals. The roles were primarily minor
ones, and
elderly women were underrepresented. Some
stereotypical characterization ("Granny" type characters) was noted.
Serra and Lamb (1984) reviewed four series of
basal readers for a total of 1036 stories. Only 6.8% of the
stories contained any elderly characters at all; however, those
that did appear were portrayed in a positive light. Elderly
women were underrepresented. Characters played mostly minor roles and were
judged to be underdeveloped.
In their comparison study, Meadows and Fillmer
(1987) examined basal readers from two generations, five series each.
The 1960's readers contained only 5.1% of elderly characters; twenty
years made only one percent difference as the 1980's contained only 6.1%
of elderly characters. There was no report of underrepresentation
of elderly women, nor of character development, nor of negative
stereotyping.
In a review of 73 children's books, Janelli (1988)
found that the majority of elderly characters appeared in minor
roles, with little character development. Depictions of the elderly
were not specifically negative but showed little variety, as most were
shown with gray hair, wearing glasses, and carrying canes or walking sticks.
No figures were noted as to representation of elderly women,
and no overall elderly population ratios were stated.
Almerico and Fillmer (1988) analyzed 2186 stories
from 101 children's magazines, and found that 5.6% of the stories contained
elderly
characters or references to the elderly. Older women were
again noted to be underrepresented, and a majority of the elderly
were found in minor roles, but the overall portrayal was a positive one.
Portrayals of the
Elderly
in Magazine Advertisements
Smith (1976) examined two medical journals, analyzing
elderly
characters in prescription drug advertisements. Arguably, all characters
in drug ads would be likely to appear in a negative light, as preventing
or curing the negative situation is the point of the ad. As anticipated,
most characters were portrayed negatively, regardless of age; however,
the elderly appeared perhaps even worse than they already
did in print media at this time.
Gantz, Gartenberg and Rainbow (1980) examined
seven popular magazines, ranging across a variety of subjects, for a total
of 6785 advertisements. The elderly were represented in only 3.1%
of the ads, and elderly women were underrepresented, with only 26%
of elderly characters being female. No note was made of quality
of the overall portrayal; no overt stereotyping was mentioned.
England, Kuhn and Gardner's 1981 longitudinal
study surveyed magazines published between 1960 and 1979. A total
of 2200 ads were analyzed, with only 2% of all characters portrayed as
elderly.
The authors noted a sexist double standard, in that women appeared far
less frequently than men.
Kvasnicka, Beymer and Perloff (1982) compared
the portrayal of elderly characters in popular magazines to portrayals
of elderly characters in magazine appealing specifically to older
readers. Predictably, the magazines aimed at an elderly market segment
showed a more positive image of aging, while the major popular magazines
continued with misrepresentation of elderly in percentages similar
to those already seen.
In Hollenshead and Ingersoll's 1982 review of
3482 magazine ads from Good Housekeeping, Time, and JAMA
(the Journal of the American Medical Association), the authors found that
only 2.6% of all ads contained elderly characters. Elderly
women were again underrepresented, except in JAMA, where their portrayal
was considerably more negative than those of Time and Good Housekeeping.
Ursic, Ursic and Ursic's 1986 comprehensive study
examined thirty years of magazine ads, (1950 - 1980) for a total of 5195
ads. In 9% of these, elderly characters appeared in an overall neutral
portrayal. Although the elderly appeared in percentages close to
those of real life, elderly women were still underrepresented.
Bramlett-Solomon and Wilson (1989) focused on the portrayal
of elderly in both general interest and black cultural interest
magazines. Predictably, elderly blacks appeared more often
in Ebony than in
Life, and neither publication portrayed
elderly characters prominently.
Bailey, Harrell and Anderson's 1993 study was
performed as a follow-up to Hollenshead and Ingersoll's 1982 research.
Using 18 issues of the same titles from 1987, the authors found that JAMA
now showed fewer women (36.5%) overall, but more of the women shown were
elderly
(39.5%). Good Housekeeping showed 71.6% of all characters
in ads as women, but only 5% of those were elderly. Similarly,
Time showed 43.4% of all characters were women, but of those, only
7.1% were
elderly. JAMA's characterizations were the
least flattering, but again, this is probably due to the nature of the
products being advertised in a medical journal.
Newspaper Portrayals
of the Elderly
Broussard, Blackmon, Blackwell, Smith and Hunt (1980)
dispelled the myth that newspapers create or harbor negative images of
the elderly. Most of the stories were neutral in nature, as
one might expect from a source of journalism (objectivity) rather
than entertainment. The authors did find positive images in stories as
well. The elderly were still not shown in true proportion to their
percentages in the U.S. population at that time.
Buchholz and Bynum (1982) surveyed a total of
120 issues from two newspapers, and found that only 3% of stories regarding
the elderly covered topics of significance such as health, retirement,
housing, crime, employment, income, public transportation and demographic
shifts. The overall image of this coverage, however, remained neutral.
In an analysis covering 11 different Sunday papers
for a total of 263 issues, Wass, Hawkins, Kelly, Magners and McMorrow (1985)
found that the image of the elderly in journalism had changed little
in the twenty years that passed. Elderly women were still
underrepresented, and less than 1% of the total space was devoted to any
coverage of the
elderly at all.
Cartoon Portrayals
of the Elderly
Smith's 1979 content analysis of magazine cartoons yielded
interesting data. Elderly characters did not appear frequently
in cartoons, and when they did, they were most likely to appear in a negative
light. Out of 2217 cartoons analyzed, only 4.3% of the characters were
elderly,
and the characters were portrayed as either extreme conservatives or as
sexually dysfunctional.
Greeting Card Portrayals
of the Elderly
Demos and Jache (1981) reviewed a total of 496 greeting
cards from a variety of companies; all had humorous attitudes toward birthdays.
As one might expect, 39% dealt with the theme of aging, and all 39% portrayed
aging in a negative, albeit humorous, light.
In this literature review, elderly women
were seen to be consistently underrepresented, which, in and of itself,
does not appear to be a negative portrayal but rather a nonexistent one.
This study will compare the percentage of elderly occurring in the
U. S. population versus the percentage of elderly occurring in the
prime-time television commercial population. The consideration
of true percentage is a vital one when the issue at hand is representation;
as George Gerbner states, "Those underrepresented in the world of television
are necessarily more stereotyped and limited. Visibility is privilege in
the symbolic world."(2)
METHODOLOGY
A content analysis was designed and conducted
for this study to determine the representation and overall role
of elderly people in prime time television commercials. The
sample was drawn from one week of nightly broadcasts from 8:00 PM until
11:00 PM, taken from four major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, yielding
a total of 60 hours of programming. This pool was recorded during
the November 1994 sweeps, in the three week window between the end of political
ad campaigns and Thanksgiving, which signals the start of Christmas
advertising. From this population, a sample was drawn by randomly choosing
a broadcast date, then coding the programming shown on each network for
the given time slots. Swayne and Greco (1987) coded 36 hours of network
programming for a total of 814 commercials; a smaller study of approximately
300 commercials was used here.
The unit of analysis
was the individual character or actor appearing in each ad.
As suggested by Swayne and Greco, body parts or bodies without faces were
not counted; however, close-up shots of faces with incomplete bodies were
counted. Each individual with a discernible face was coded for gender,
race and age group categories. Elderly characters were coded for
role emphasis, and the type of product being advertised and locale of the
commercial was noted. Ads containing discernible faces were then
analyzed for presence of elderly characters. "Elderly" was
defined as appearing age 65 or older. Following subjective criteria
established by Swayne and Greco (1987), among others, characters were defined
as elderly if they appeared within a context suggesting retirement,
if their hair color was primarily gray or white, if they had skin wrinkles
apparent in the face and hands, if they used ambulatory aids (canes, walkers
or wheelchairs), hearing aids or obvious bifocal glasses, and if
they appeared with or displayed evidence of middle-aged children or grandchildren.
Gender categories were defined as male and female.
Age group categories were
defined as follows:
1. 0 - 17 years = young (child, adolescent or late teen
years).
2. 18 - 64 years = adult (parent, homeowner, position
of authority).
3. 65 and up = elderly (as above).
When examining the broad category of race, it
becomes next to impossible to assign such a wide variety of social identifiers
to one overarching term. For example, those who initially fall into the
African-American category may actually be of South American or Caribbean
origin. Similarly, those classified as Hispanics may be from
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, South America, Portugal, Spain, or even Italy.
In the researcher's limited observation capacity, it is not possible to
question the subjects appearing in the ads, which prevents precise definition
in almost every case. In view of these difficulties, the term culture
group was chosen, in order to sort subjects into generalized but more socially
accurate descriptions, for the purposes of data analysis.
Culture group categories were
defined as:
1. White = Anglo/European, fair-skinned.
2. African American = distinguished
by dark skin color.
3. Hispanic = distinguished by medium/olive
skin tone, audible accent or Hispanic surname.
4. Other visible minority = (Asian,
Native American, etc.) distinguished by accent, dress, skin color, facial
features
Role emphasis was
defined as:
1. Major role = elderly person functions as main
character or spokesperson, appears on camera throughout the ad and
has a speaking role.
2. Minor role = elderly person speaks seldom or
not at all, remains on screen for less than half the duration of
the ad, or appears in a supporting role to the major characters.
3. Background role = one in which the elderly
person appears more or less as scenery, with no speaking part and a fleeting
appearance on camera, such as in a sweeping camera pan or wide shot of
scene.
Negative stereotypes of the elderly frequently
place them in home settings, or in hospitals, doctors offices and retirement
facilities. By examining the locale of the commercial, one can determine
whether the elderly appear in stereotypical settings, or whether
they are shown with economic clout in retail or business scenes, for example.
Similarly, one can determine whether elders are seen as reclusive or sedentary
by observing appearances in recreational/social settings.
Locale was coded by determining
the apparent location for the ad:
1. Home setting = a room in a house, domestic scenery.
2. Recreational/social setting = indoor locations include
parties, sporting events, movies or theater, restaurants or lounges,
health clubs, K of C or Elks lodges, and the like. Outdoor
locations include parks, yards, natural outside settings or any outside
location featuring grass, trees, or water.
3. Professional/corporate setting = indoor locations
would include retail stores, factories or service-oriented businesses,
offices or boardrooms, airports, anyplace involving meetings, charts, briefcases
and business suits. Outdoor locations include any downtown/exterior
office building setting, inside a limousine or airplane, construction site,
or any outdoor business ventures.
4. Health care setting = this very specific category
includes any setting in which the elderly appear as patients or
as receivers of health care, advise, or information, or where an elderly
character is voicing a complaint. Scenes portraying elderly
characters as doctors, nurses or any health care provider would be coded
as professional. This is intended to examine the previously-reported image
of elderly as sickly or frail.
5. Other setting = any other
location not described here.
As suggested by Moore and Cadeau (1985), the
product types were broken down into five broad categories: food items,
major purchases, household goods, hygiene and health aids, and beauty/appearance
enhancing products. These category divisions yielded
some interesting data regarding negative stereotypes of aging, including
subtext messages equdtitigage with ugliness, illness, poverty, and sedentary
lifestyles.
The product categories were
defined as follows:
1. Food items = including grocery
items, candy, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
2. Major purchases = including
furniture, cars, vacations, homes, insurance, computers, audio/video equipment,
recreational vehicles, investment products (stocks, CD's) and other big
ticket items. (ex: diamond anniversary jewelry).
3. Household goods = including
home or car cleaning products, videos, compact discs or tapes, clothing,
personal accessories (beepers, radar detectors, Walkman-type personal tape
players) small sporting goods, (golf balls, tennis shoes), or entertainment
purchases such as Nintendo-type video games, home video rentals or movie
theater tickets.
4. Hygiene/health aids = including
soap, personal cleansers, denture care items, laxative, vitamins, nutritional
or diet supplements (such as Ensure or Susta-Cal), cold remedies, over-the-counter
pain relievers, prescription drugs, hearing aids (like Whisper 2000 or
Beltone) eye care including bifocals, radial-keratotomy or laser
cataract surgery ads, ambulatory aids including canes, walkers, wheelchairs,
Craftmatic beds and lift-chairs, digestive aids (Mylanta, Turns), bladder
control products and any other personal care products not related to superficial
or appearance needs.
5. Beauty/appearance enhancing
products = including perfumes, creams, moisturizers, hair removers or replacements,
hair care products including shampoos and hair colors.
Therefore, the proposed
categories of analysis were listed as follows:
1. Total number of characters
in commercial (up to 10).
2. Number of elderly characters
in commercial.
3. Age group of each character
in commercial.
4. Culture group of each character
in commercial.
5. Role emphasis of elderly
characters in commercial.
6. Locale or setting of commercial.
7. Type of product being advertised.
Coders received instruction with regard to the coding
process, observation, and completing the coding sheet. A pilot
study drawn from one hour of programming was conducted to determine the
effectiveness of the coding process and to check coding form definitions.
The reliability coefficient was found to be .91 based on the completed
coding forms from the pilot study. Having tested the coding procedure and
form, the actual study did commence with two initial coders.
The researcher attempted to ensure reliability by carefully and clearly
defining category boundaries and instructing the coders accordingly.
RESULTS
This chapter will examine the results in two
separate sections; first, results will by analyzed by specific category,
and the second section will frame the results within the context of the
research questions presented in Chapter One. A total of 278
commercials were coded by two independent coders simultaneously. In case
of a split decision, a third coder viewed the spot for tie-breaking purposes
only. The number of spots coded per network did vary somewhat, as
Fox tends to cater to a younger audience and, as such, broadcasts ten and
fifteen second spots more often than ABC or CBS. The pace of programming
and production on Fox is significantly more frenetic than on the other
networks, which allows them to air more commercials within the prime-time
window than their competitors.
Table 1: Spots Coded
Per Network
FOX
77
CBS
64
NBC
74
ABC
63
Forty two of the 278 spots (15%) contained elderly
characters. Only 68 of the 829 characters fit this study' definition of
'elderly.' One hundred and seventy four characters appeared
as adults, and 100 were coded as young characters. Of the 42 commercials
with elderly characters, 15 featured the elders alone; 21 showed
elderly characters with adults and youth, and only 6 showed elders
interacting directly with youth minus any adult characters.
Gender
Of the 68 elderly characters, 39 were male and
29 were female. In contrast, females aged 65-74 outnumbered males
in the same age group four to three in the 1990 U. S. Census (U.S. Bureau
of Census, 1990).
Role prominence
A total of 135 elderly characters were coded.
Of these, 49 (36% of total) appeared in major roles; 42 (31% of total)
appeared in minor or 'single dialog line' roles, and 44 (33% appeared in
background or non-speaking roles.
Locale
The setting of a commercial lends much power to its subtext,
including messages about the health, intelligence and income level
of the characters. Although commercials typically feature a
wide variety of settings, it is possible to categorize this information
in such a way as to determine potential patterns of stereotypical or negative
portrayals. For example, if elderly characters are seen only
in hospitals and doctors' offices, this implies that all old people
in TV commercials suffer poor health. If elderly appear only
in nursing homes, or sitting in living room rocking chairs, this implies
that all old people in TV commercials are feeble and unable to care for
themselves.
Unfortunately, old people are not conspicuous in their
absence. If crowd shots of a fast food restaurant reveal no elders,
the viewer assumes that old people do not eat at fast food restaurants.
If car commercials show only young people driving new cars, the viewer
assumes that old people do not buy or drive new cars.
Locale coding was broken into five categories: home setting;
recreational or social setting such as a party, picnic, sports event or
outdoor activity; professional/corporate setting in which the elder appears
as an authority (executive, doctor) or as a customer (diner, shopper).
Such a category implies that the elder enjoys a position of power or economic
clout. The health care category includes hospitals, doctors' offices,
nursing homes or any other setting (such as the interior of an ambulance)
that implies the elder suffers poor health. The final category covers any
spots shot in an empty studio or blank set, or those of indeterminate location.
Table 2: Spots coded
by locale
Home setting
15 Spots 36%
Recreational/social 6 spots
14%
Prof/corp/retail
17 spots 40%
Health care setting 2 spots
5%
Other/indeterminate 2 spots
5%
Ethnic elderly
The total population of the 42 commercials featuring
elderly
characters came to 299 characters. Of these, 252 (84%) fell into
the Anglo or Caucasian/non-visible minority category. 31 (11%) were
coded as African-American or black characters; only 7 (2%) appeared to
be of Hispanic origin. Nine (3%) characters rounded out the
visible minority category. Of the 68 elderly characters, one
was coded as African-American, one was coded as being of Hispanic origin,
and two fell into the other visible minority category.
Product
The product categories were intended to examine certain
stereotypes. The major purchase category included any 'big ticket'
items or any purchase over $300 of goods, services or investments, or purchases
with long term ramifications. This included buying decisions such as long
distance telephone carriers, on-line computer services, and insurance purchases.
Seventy four of the 278 commercials, or 26.6% of the total, were devoted
to major purchase products and services. Only food ads were seen
more frequently (29.1%). Advertisers included PrimeStar satellite
TV service, RCA and Magnavox, Universal Studios theme park, Microsoft,
AT&T long distance service, and Cadillac cars. This would indicate
that major purchase advertisers do not shy away from elderly consumers, and in fact,
actively pursue and portray them in their ad campaigns. The household
goods category yielded a total of 63 ads, or 22.7% of all ads coded.
Advertisers in this category included Walmart, Sears, Alpo dog food
and fams pet foods. The Sears ad featured an older man helping a younger
woman (father-daughter) paint the exterior of a house, while the Walmart
ad featured an elderly clerk standing near fishing gear. Hygiene
and health ads were separated from beauty products to examine two different
concepts: the correlation between age and health; and the correlation
between age and beauty. Thirty six of the 278 coded ads qualified
in the health and hygiene category, which amounts to 12.9% of the total.
Advertisers included Ensure nutritional supplement, Extra Strength Tylenol
pain reliever, Efidac 24 hour cold medicine, and Advil Cold and Sinus formula
decongestant. Surprisingly, the ads for such typically 'old age' products
such as Preparation H did not feature
elderly characters. No ads
appeared for ambulatory aids such as lift chairs or adjustable beds; nor
did ads appear for products such as Ben-Gay or Therapeutic Mineral Ice
pain reliever. This would suggest the notion that while the elderly
may not need assistance in getting around, they are not physically active,
either. In summary, it appears that the predominant health
concerns facing elderly consumers are malnutrition, headaches and
colds. Only 24 of the 278 commercials fell into the beauty/appearance-enhancing
category, just 8.6% of the total. Calvin Klein CKOne fragrance and
Vidal Sassoon Styling System were the only two advertisers. Vidal Sassoon
himself counted as the lone elder is his commercials, whereas Calvin Klein
showed an older woman in a fleeting montage of people who presumably might
wear his fragrance.
Research Questions
1. What is the percentage of
elderly
people in prime time television commercials compared to the percentage
of elderly in the U.S. population?
According to the 1990 U. S. Census, 12.6% of the U.S.
population was aged 65 years or older. In the television commercial
population examined, 8.14% of the characters met the definition of
elderly
as outlined in Chapter 1.
2. What is the ratio of elderly
females to elderly males in prime time television commercials as
compared to previously cited ratios of elderly females to elderly
males in the U.S. population?
According to the 1990 U.S. Census, for ages 65 and up,
the ratio of males to females is 67.3 males for every 100 females, and
for ages 85 and up, the ratio dwindles to 46 males for every 100 females.
In the study population, the ratio of elderly males to females was
133:100.
3. What is the percentage of
elderly
African-Americans presented in prime time television commercials?
In the sample population, only 0.12% of the total population
appeared to fit the definition of elderly African-American
as outlined in Chapter 1. Interestingly, the U.S. Census states
that almost 1% (0.995%) of the African-American U.S. population was aged
65 or older in 1990;
4. What is the percentage of
elderly
Hispanics presented in prime time television commercials?
Within the sample population, the percentage of characters
who fit the elderly Hispanic criteria was only 0.12%. In contrast,
the U.S. Census states that 8.99% of the country's population in 1990 belonged
with the Hispanic culture group.
5. What is the percentage of
visible non-Anglo minorities (such as Asians, American Indians, or Middle
Easterners) presented in prime time television commercials?
Other visible minorities constituted 0.24% of the total
TV character population. The 1990 U.S. Census counted five major
cultural group populations: Asian/Pacific Islander, Black or African-American,
Hispanic, Native American, and White or Anglo. Subtracting the 2.92% of
Americans who claim Asian/Pacific Islander descent, and the 0.79% of Americans
who claim Native American descent, and the total of non-Anglo visible minorities
(other than Hispanic and African-American) adds up to a total of
3.71% of the U.S. population. If 12% of these individuals are
age 65 and older, then the resulting negligible percentage again points
to poor representation of ethnic elderly on prime time television.
6. Do any negative, unflattering
or stereotypical images of elderly people appear in prime time television
commercials?
No clear cut, definitive negative stereotypes of elderly
people emerged from this study; in fact, elderly characters did
not appear in the anticipated commercial categories. For example,
elderly characters did not appear in roles for products such as
arthritis medication, denture care products, or skin wrinkle creams, nor
did they appear in sick, weak, fragile, or absent-minded roles.
DISCUSSION
It appears that the image of elderly people
in prime time television commercials is less negative than previously thought.
Advertisers may have taken the cue from published research and made an
obvious effort to avoid perpetuating the sick, weak old person stereotype.
However, the effect of this has been to reduce the overall opportunities
for visibility of elderly characters.
For instance, Madison Avenue won't break the
stereotype by routinely showing older characters in positive situations,
but it will make certain that older characters do not appear in negative,
stereotyped situations, either. As illustrated in the data from this
and other studies, elders are still significantly underrepresented in proportion
to their true occurrence within the U.S. population.
Conclusion
Do advertisers have an obligation to represent ethnic
Americans in true proportions? After all, the main purpose of advertising
is to sell products, not to foster cultural diversity and social harmony.
Indeed, every advertiser in America has a right to free speech as defined
and protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. However,
the federal government requires licensure or supervision of newspapers,
magazines, radio and television broadcasters, cable companies, and
most predominant forms of mass media. Even the Internet is coming
under government scrutiny. This would imply that the government recognizes
the power and effect of mass media, at least to some degree.
In order to receive an official broadcast frequency, applicants must
promise and prove that they perform some kind of service to the community
in their programming. Along with the rights of handling a mass media outlet
come the responsibilities, and while broadcasters have to answer for
perpetuating negative stereotypes, gratuitous violence, graphic sexual
situations, and sociopathic behavior in prime time programming, advertisers
might be made to answer for promoting the same values in commercial content.
Outlining such rights and responsibilities is the work of Constitutional
scholars, however, and is not the purpose of this study. The main
purpose of the study was to examine and follow elderly underrepresentation
trends identified in previous mass media research, adding to the
existing body of knowledge on the topic. Further research might
include a cross cultural mass media effects study, to determine if deeply
held cultural beliefs can be positively or negatively affected by mass
media exposure. Producers and programmers may want to examine
context and content in light of such results, which may change the
existing low profile that the elderly currently face.
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FOOTNOTES
1. The Tampa Tribune, Tuesday,
October 5,1993. Baylife, page 4.
2. Gerbner, G., (1993). "Learning Productive
Aging as a Social Role: The Lessons of Television," in Achieving a Productive
Aging Society, Bass, S.A., Caro, F. G., and Chen, Y. P., eds.
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by Lester B. Brown (Editor), Steven G. Sarosy, Terry
Clark Cook, Quarto
Garland Pub; 1997 ISBN: 0815328664
Hispanic
Elderly
: A Cultural Signature
by Marta Sotomayor, Herman Curiel (Editor)
Natl Hispanic Council on Aging; 1988 ISBN: 0938738070
Societal
Impact on Aging : Historical Perspectives (Societal Impact of Aging)
by K. Warner Schaie, W. Andrew Achenbaum (Editor)
Springer Pub Co; 1993 ISBN: 0826182003
City
of Green Benches : Growing Old in a New Downtown
(Anthropology of Contemporary Issues)
by Maria D. Vesperi
Cornell Univ Pr; 1985 ISBN: 0801418186
Achieving
a Productive Aging Society
by Scott A. Bass (Editor), Francis G. Caro, Yung-Ping Chen (Editor)
Greenwood Publishing Group; 1993 ISBN: 0865690324
Ageism,
the Aged and Aging in America : On Being Old in an Alienated Society
by Ursula Adler Falk, Gerhard Falk
Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd; 1997 ISBN: 0398067651
Age
and Structural Lag : Society's Failure to Provide Meaningful
Opportunities
in Work, Family, and Leisure
by Robert L. Kahn (Editor), Anne Foner (Editor), Matilda
W. Riley (Editor)
John Wiley & Sons; 1994 ISBN: 0471016780
Geroethics
: A New Vision of Growing Old in America (Golden Age Books)
by Gerald A. Larue
Prometheus Books; 1992 ISBN:
0879757507
A
Guide to Research in Gerontology
by Dorothea R. Zito, George V. Zito
Greenwood Publishing Group; 1988 ISBN: 0313259046
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