‘It’s a loss of invaluable insights and creativity’:

New research from the Experience Advocacy Taskforce (EAT) has found a significant talent drain of professionals over the age of 40 in the advertising industry, with nearly 70% of those once considered the ‘young guns’ departing prematurely.

Ahead of Ageism Awareness Day on October 9, the survey, conducted in partnership with Advertising Industry Careers, highlighted how severely the advertising industry is losing its experienced workforce.

More than half (52%) of exits in the industry occur between the ages of 45-54, while signs of age-related exits start as early as 35.

While unintentional exits (involuntary redundancies) made up nearly 36% of survey respondents, 11% quoted stress or a move to a client-side role as their reason for departing advertising.

Meanwhile, just 2% cited a struggle to keep up with industry change – clearly debunking the myth that older professionals can’t keep up in the digital age.