Ad Series for Senior Living Choices

How does a young professional fresh out of college create messaging that resonates with a demographic consisting of retirees and their families looking for assisted living communities? She does it by addressing seniors as peers, and using a voice that recognizes retirees as individuals with vibrant and bold personalities built from decades of experience. 

In making these ads, I thought about my family and friends who may need a bit more help in their later years, but they have also figured out the things in their life that really matter to them. I thought about their unique lifestyles and values, and what concerns they might have if required to find a new home in assisted care.  

Even though it is often the families of seniors that see these ads and conduct the search on their behalf, I knew that addressing them directly would open the campaign up to the possibility of pitfalls that many similar ads fall into. Too much advertising in the elder care industry has a subtle undercurrent of dehumanization, so it was very important for me to approach this campaign with empathy and light-hearted fun. This series of ads, still running in Senior Living Choices magazines 4 years later, empowers families who are going through an uncertain and confusing time in the face of a difficult decision. Even more importantly, these ads make senior audiences feel understood and loved for who they are, and who they have become over a lifetime of experience.