Senior living center’s ads take a richer view of the bittersweet realities of getting older

Aging is typically considered a bad thing, with a good chunk of the consumer products market dedicated to minimizing its effects. But Aegis Living, a network of senior assisted living centers in Washington, California and Nevada, today breaks an ad campaign that aims to reframe aging as the ultimate shared experience—worthy of better messaging than the category’s standard clichés. A 60-second spot (above) is fresh for the category, eschewing the usual imagery of smiling seniors on pickleball courts and instead presenting aging as something that’s happening to all of us, all the time. This more emotional approach recognizes how difficult it can be for families to entrust their loved ones to the care of strangers. The campaign is from agency Little Hands of Stone, whose co-founder, Matt McCain, said that “treating old people like unfortunate victims robs them of respect and robs the rest of us of seeing that we’re all barreling towards the same reality.” More from Little Hands of Stone: Rover’s adorable pet-sitting ad—from the pet’s point of view The creative team of Kevin Jones and Patty Orlando—Wieden+Kennedy alums who both have elderly and/or deceased parents—crafted the work. “They presented an image of a newborn baby with the headline ‘Future old person’ and it blew our minds,” said McCain. “It was an entirely new way of looking at aging and celebrates that shared journey.” There is an interesting radio component to the campaign, with a 101-year-old Aegis resident talking about what aging means to her. The campaign was also informed by the experiences of Little Hands of Stone’s other co-founder, Michael Boychuk, whose father had a bad experience at another assisted living community before moving to Aegis, where his mental and physical health improved dramatically. “We label each other as ‘young’ or ‘middle-aged’ or ‘elderly,’ but in reality, we all begin aging the moment we’re born,” said Boychuk. “Getting older is a wild, unstoppable series of joyful, beautiful, painful events that we get the privilege of experiencing for as long as we’re allowed. Any added elements on top of that core truth would only get in the way.” More Creativity coverage from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Senior living center’s ads take a richer view of the bittersweet realities of getting older

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