🗣️ Addressing ageism in the creative Industry
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🗣️ Addressing ageism in the creative Industry
A newsletter about design and creativity, and how they contribute to a better world.
Welcome to Edition #43 of the Creative Currents newsletter!
In this edition, we address the issue of ageism in the creative industry and explore the importance of age diversity. The statistics reveal a lack of representation for individuals over 50 in marketing, advertising, and creative agencies. Ageism is perpetuated through stereotypes that undermine the value and expertise of older professionals.
This underrepresentation not only limits perspectives and experiences in creative projects but also misses opportunities to connect with a significant consumer base. We discuss the need to challenge stereotypes, reevaluate hiring practices, and actively involve older professionals in creative decision-making. Embracing age diversity can lead to a more inclusive and representative portrayal of society in creative spaces and advertising.
Additionally, we highlight the rise of the older influencer in a post-demographic world, where people are defying outdated stereotypes and creating diverse content. We also provide insights on how brands can promote age diversity and avoid excluding older adults in their products and campaigns. The newsletter concludes with interesting design, creativity, and green initiative finds from the web, along with a report from our data and strategy team.
So, in summary of today:
Addressing Ageism in the Creative Industry
This week’s interesting design, creativity, and green initiatives finds from the web.
A Post-Demographic Landscape & The Rise of the Older Influencer
Pluck up your courage and make a romantic move
Addressing Ageism in the Creative Industry
The creative industries have long been obsessed with terms like “fresh thinking” and “cutting-edge ideas.” However, this has come at a cost: ageism. With a disproportionate focus on younger generations, an unsubstantiated emphasis being put on “be culturally connected,” and the inaccurate stereotype that creativity declines with age — in 2023, the creative industries have very little representation for individuals over 50.
The statistics paint a bleak picture of age diversity within marketing, advertising, and the creative industries. In the United States, the average age of a marketing manager is 39.7, compared to 45.8 for all management roles across all industries. In the United Kingdom, the IPA Census found that the average age of employees in creative agencies was as low as 34, with only 6% being over 50. By contrast, individuals over 50 make up 31% of the workforce in the UK.
Ageism manifests itself through various perceptions and stereotypes in the creative industries. Famously, in August 2020, a chief executive at WPP said: "We have a very broad range of skills and if you look at our people — the average age of someone who works at WPP is less than 30 — they don't hark back to the 1980s, luckily.” The perception that older professionals are going to “hark back to the 1980s”, are not digital natives, or lack familiarity with platforms like TikTok undermines their value in a digitally-driven world. As we will see later in the newsletter, older adults are very proficient with platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Nevertheless, these biases prevent the full utilisation of the knowledge, skills, and expertise that come with age.
It is not a surprise that 78% of people over 50 feel like their age group is misrepresented in advertising. Underrepresentation not only perpetuates ageist stereotypes but also limits the range of perspectives and experiences brought to a creative project. When creating campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, it is crucial to have a range of perspectives, including those of older individuals who can provide valuable insights into their demographic. Ignoring this wealth of experience limits the industry's ability to develop authentic and relevant content for a substantial market segment. When older individuals are not represented, it leads to missed opportunities to connect with a significant consumer base.
Whether you are concerned with your bottom line, reaching new audiences, having a range of creative perspectives, or the general betterment of society — having a team that is diverse in terms of age, background, and experience can help to address all of these issues. This can be done through challenging stereotypes, reevaluating hiring practices, and actively involving older professionals in creative decision-making. As a result, embracing age diversity will not only benefit the industry itself but also lead to a more inclusive and representative portrayal of society in creative spaces and advertising.
For more interesting discussions on the topic:
Do you have a design or creativity-related question that you would like to have answered? Mail them to us at hello@wonderland.studio and we’ll take it from there.
Is AI Good or Bad for Brand Designers?
Across a range of industries, AI has become a topic of both excitement and apprehension. Will it replace human creativity and make brand designers obsolete, or can it enhance their skills and lead to breakthrough results? The answer lies in how we approach and deal with the technology
Before looking at the impact of AI on brand designers, it's important to consider the potential risks. AI could pose significant challenges from a legal, ethical and existential perspective. If not managed carefully, it could inadvertently infringe copyright, perpetuate bias, or even raise existential questions about the role of human creativity. It is therefore crucial to navigate these potential pitfalls through responsible development, implementation and regulation.
However, if used correctly, AI can be a powerful tool for brand designers. In my opinion, AI does not seek to replace human creatives, but to empower them.
AI algorithms can help brand designers find the perfect way to express a concept more deeply, offering fresh and unexpected perspectives. This human-machine partnership/relationship allows for a deeper exploration of creativity, leading to novel and compelling brand experiences.
One of the most valuable aspects of brand design is the ability to make a human connection and persuade an audience by design. AI, when used intelligently and properly, can greatly aid this process. By analysing data and patterns, (check out this tool), AI can uncover insights that would otherwise be elusive. These insights can help designers create brands that resonate deeply with their audiences, leading to more effective communication and engagement.
The bottom line in my opinion is that AI can be a great asset to brand designers if it is used and deployed correctly. By working with AI, you can harness new capabilities to unlock new levels of creativity and innovation. So try to embrace it and see how it can be valuable to you.
Written by Martijn van der Does
This week’s interesting design, creativity, and green initiatives finds from the web.
Choosing clients is the single biggest decision a designer can make.
Hyundai lead designer SangYup Lee is making EVs safer and smarter looking.
New spate of generative AI platforms makes technology more accessible to marketers
Deepfake girl warns parents of social media dangers and identity abuse
A Post-Demographic Landscape & The Rise of the Older Influencer
From fashion content to comedy, becoming an influencer isn’t reserved for millennials and Gen-Z anymore. In 2023, we are seeing the rise of the older influencer. While it would make trend forecasting easier, we can’t categorise this content in terms of “all older influencers are doing x” and the content is diverse as the people creating it. We see fashion accounts like @paresiansinparis posting older people’s outfits, influencers like @it’s_j_dog creating comedic content around her life as a 92-year-old or @grandma_droniak posting a GRWM to see her gravestone. @brunchwithbabs is giving the grandmotherly advice that everyone needs, while @baddiewinkle and @greceghanem posting fashion and beauty content to rival any Gen-Z influencer.
Why is this happening?
This trend speaks to what is being called a post-demographic world, where major research institutes like the Pew Research Centre are rethinking how they report on generations and looking to factors beyond age when making comparisons between groups of people. Meanwhile, typically Gen-Z like Pangaia and Balenciaga are hiring models of all ages for their campaigns and runway shows. In our post-demographic world, people are not behaving within our outdated, binary stereotypes of older people versus younger people.
Moreover, with an aging population and increasing lifespans, the number of seniors in our society is rapidly increasing. Further, thanks to technology and improving quality of life, many older individuals are flourishing despite the prejudices, biases, and formidable hurdles associated with aging.
Finally, we have the anti-ageism movement, where older people are taking control of their own narratives and rewriting the stereotypes attached to old age. Online campaigns like #Ilookmyage focus on dispelling myths and outdated attitudes towards ageing, and calling out harmful phrases like “you don’t look your age”, and “you look younger than you are”. The campaign peaked in June 2023 and currently has 6 million views on TikTok.
What does this mean for brands?
Avoid excluding or disregarding older adults when developing products or marketing campaigns, as you might unintentionally exclude a highly engaged audience for your product.
Promote age diversity in your visual assets and challenge stereotypes associated with older generations by showcasing unconventional images of older adults.
Read more here:
Our data and strategy team will cover trend insights on a biweekly basis. See an insight or trend you'd like us to explain? Email it to hello@wonderland.studio and we'll take it from there.
Super Dope has brought to life how it feels to pluck up your courage and make a romantic move in its latest animated project, In Love.
