Older Americans with diabetes don't see themselves enough in advertising

Ted MarzilliCEO YouGov Direct
November 19, 2018, 4:30 PM GMT+0

Four in 10 wish they could see more ads with families like theirs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that just over 30 million Americans currently live with diabetes. That's about one in 10 people.

Given that November is National Diabetes Month, figures from YouGov Plan & Track show that US adults aged 50 or over diagnosed with diabetes differ from their 50+ peers in another way. As the data shows, 53% of consumers aged 50+ diagnosed with diabetes agree that they don’t see their lifestyle represented enough in advertising, compared to 47% of consumers aged 50+ who haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes.

At the same time, 78% of Americans aged 50+ diagnosed with diabetes say they like seeing “real-looking people” in ads, compared to 75% of their age cohort without diabetes. Nearly four in 10 (39%) older consumers with diabetes also wish they could see more advertisements with families like theirs, while only one in three (33%) of older consumers without diabetes show a similar sentiment.

Brands and marketers might be interested to know US adults aged 50+ diagnosed with diabetes differ from those without diabetes in yet another way: They’re slightly more likely to say advertising affects their purchasing decisions.

In total, 45% of consumers aged 50+ diagnosed with diabetes agree that advertising helps them choose what they buy, compared to 43% of older consumers without diabetes.

Further figures indicate that 36% of Americans aged 50+ with diabetes think ads are a waste of time. The same is true for 40% of older shoppers living without diabetes.

Photo: Getty

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