I don’t watch a lot of British TV, most of it’s not worth wasting the time on if you have it, but one thing which has struck me is the vast amount of adverts for funeral plans and retirement homes, some for the over 50s. I find it quite depressing compared to what is advertised on Spanish TV; I’ve yet to see either products placed on prime time TV channels.
Granted, there is one digital dating site being advertised in the UK but the funeral planners are cornering the markets, even more so than family holidays. And there’s the rub. What’s going on in the minds of the UK?
Birthrates are falling and the long-term implications could be quite extreme for the younger generations with people living longer - despite all the funeral plan ads - someone’s got to pay the pensions.
Mind you, there’s also the vast expansion of retirement homes, many looking very flash, across the UK, so the market is certainly alive and kicking whichever side of the fence your business is on. Surely it can’t be healthy for the millions of viewers to be constantly bombarded with adverts about death and how you can save your family money by taking out a great funeral plan deal. I think there is something endemically sad about a country obsessed with dying.