The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of newspaper advertisements present of the elderly over the period of time and according to the specific subjects and to identify how these image be recognized by the general public as well as the elderly.
The major findings were as follows:
1. there has been an unrepresentation of older people when compared with the proportion of the elderly to the whole population in ads. Recently, however, more elderly have tended to be shown in ads than before.
2. Generally, there has been changes of the improvement of the image of the elderly in ads. However, the elderly in ads are portrayed as being physically inactive, with health problem, and tend to be seen in non-work or family settings.
3. Negative portrayal of older people in ads may affect non-elderly´s perceptions of the elderly negatively.
4. This study concluded that the importance of the role of advertisements in shaping the images of the elderly. Therefore, a more positive image of older people should be presented in advertisements.
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