Lumene: Everyday Ageism

Over-50s dating app Lumen has persuaded half a dozen people to bare all in a protest against "everyday ageism" in advertising, with each model handed nothing but a placard emblazoned with an anti-ageism slogan to protect their modesty.

Each person featured in the campaign presents an eye-catching message in support of their cause to such as: ‘Grey hair don’t care’, ‘Nobody puts Granny in the corner’ and ‘It’s our time to be seen’; different iterations of which will be presented to commuters on the London Underground from Monday (8 April).

Charly Lester, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Lumen, remarked: “The fact that almost nine in 10 over-50s think that advertising aimed at them needs to change should be a real wake-up call to the industry about the ‘everyday ageism’ all around us. Not only is it a case of underrepresentation, but heavily edited images are making older people feel like it’s not ok to be themselves.”

The campaign launch follows on from Lumen’s ‘Sexy Santa’ ad, which was accused of ‘objectifying’ an older model, being banned from the Transport for London (TfL) network last year.

“Our Santa billboard, that was banned in December, was designed to make the ‘invisible over-50s visible, and show just because you’re aged over 50 doesn’t mean you can’t be sexy and have a little fun – and it was phenomenally successful. We’re calling on advertisers to reconsider how they portray older age groups and show them for the attractive, funny and real people they are.”