Abstract

This article examines marketing literature on portrayals of older adults in American television and magazine advertisements and—taking into account audience-specific portrayals—identifies two distinct forms of aging denial: the explicit aging denial present in anti-aging advertisements primarily targeted to a middle-aged and younger market, and the more subtle aging denial present in the images of positive “agelessness” promoted to an older audience. A close reading of Botox advertising campaigns reveals the disempowerment of this first form of aging denial. However, the authors—coming from different disciplines, generations and genders—present contrasting perspectives on the value of the aging denial present in positive “ageless” portrayals and suggest directions for needed future research.