‘Ageism is the new sexism’: adland’s next battle

This is nothing new, I was made redundant twice in my 50’s. After 17 years with News & a newborn I took paternity leave as planned with the expectation that I would simply walk back into another job. I took over 6 months of interviews etc, the most common excuse from interviewers was that I had too much experience for what they were paying! Surely what I am prepared to work for is my decision. When people employ me that get someone that will come to work, on time, dressed appropriately, that knows that they need to work harder than all the younger ones because we are so easy to work out of the business.
What you won’t get is gap years, hangovers, attitude etc.
I would love to hear from some 30 somethings on how they intend working through to retirement age. Perhaps by then the ageism will be hitting people in their 40’s
Karma, I say.

Agree with Geoff – this is not news – ageism has been a silent killer in the workplace for the past two decades – what would be news would be a government or company willing to pay more than lip service to the ostracisation of older workers.

I can distinctly remember looking around the Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney office in 2000 and noticing that they were only 4 people over 40 in a office over 160 people. The solution – 1. Set up your own agency. 2. Try not to look too old. 3. Employ young people.

Absolutely nothing new at all in this topic. For years its been the biggest elephant in the room. It raises its head every 6 months and then simmers down as the gender diversity debate replaces it again. Around and around it goes.

The industry is excellent at regurgitating the same things over and over again at talk fests without actually doing anything about it. I spoke at a Mumbrella360 session in 2011 about the fact that there really is no future in the industry after 40.

I received indignant outrage from those who had been on the receiving end of it who were very supportive in calling for cultural change. There were also those who bluntly told me that’s just the way it is and to get over myself. The entrenched anger of those shouting me down was often venomous and bitter.

I imagine there are hundreds of people who have experienced both of these scenarios since then. I have met a lot of people over the years since 2011 with great current skills and solid experience who have been pushed aside. Some have lost everything as a consequence when they still had everything to offer an industry that scraps the very people it once applauded and celebrated.

It is also a wake-up call for the current crop whose careers are rushing towards a wall they have yet to hit. At the moment, it all appears rosy but after seeing several of these cycles over many years, their time is also fast approaching.

I do wonder if the industry is ever going to grow up and value the depth of skills and experience that it believes is readily disposable.
After all there is always a steady stream of hopefuls ready to become the next generation of lemmings running towards the cliff,

Ageism in Adland is not new at all.
In my 20 years in agencies I have never worked with anyone over 50 – across all departments.
I am now in my early 40’s and the next age down in the company I am working for is 32, I am the oldest. I am already thinking that I will need a plan B if I want to work past 45.
In my previous agency the oldest person, in a company of 60 was 43 and he was the MD.

I agree with Geoff, older staff are more experienced and therefore capable, willing and importantly, reliable.

Forget 50s and 60s, if you’re in your early 40s and looking for work in the media, communications, PR or advertising worlds, you’re pretty much shit outta luck. Of course it’s easier to be outraged over gender diversity, so let’s stuff this issue back under the carper and forget it ever existed.

I’m a “man of a certain age” … a self-funded more-or-less retiree with a decent amount of disposable income. I can’t remember an advertisement or marketing campaign in the last 10 years, be it on TV, online or anywhere else, that has enticed me to spend a dollar. Those of my age, if portrayed at all in advertising, come across as fuddy-duddies, slack-jawed grandparents, grumpy old buggers or, worst of all when ad people try to make us cool, embarrassments who drive around in sports cars. Sure, I’m a hard arsed hard sell who’s lived enough to know the right side of up from the bad side of down … but, hey, you under 35 cool cats haven’t a clue when it comes to enticing your elders to buy anything. Try treating us like grown-ups which most of you obviously aren’t.

The ageism issue I believe affects men disproportionately for a couple of reasons and would explain why it gets less attention than it should. There’s not a lot of sympathy out their for middle aged white guys who are generally perceived as the winners in the socio-economic lottery. Any time we pop our heads over the parapet to claim a bias against us we are quickly told to pull them in.