The representation of elderly adults in COVID-19 prevention adverts. A critical, multimodal and comparative analysis

Abstract

In this article we analyze in a comparative way the representation of older adults in 32 socially oriented advertising spots in the framework of COVID-19 prevention from Spain and Mexico. Spanish and Mexican advertising is analyzed in an exemplary manner as Spanish-speaking countries representing the Global North and South, respectively. For the study, a theoretical design has been employed that triangulates multimodality applied to digital discursive practices with tools from Cognitive Linguistics and the semiotic processes of iconization, erasure and fractal recursivity elaborated applied to medial metadiscourse. The study shows that older adults are scarcely represented in the social spots of prevention against COVID-19, despite having been a group especially hit by the pandemic. In total, of the 32 spots found via YouTube, only 5 represent the older adult group in some way (15% of the videos). In both Spain and Mexico, older adults are iconized as dependent, with very little agency, similar to how children are depicted, as well as vulnerable, and physically and mentally debilitated. This shows a negative stereotype of older adults that reveals an ageist ideology in both societies.