As the sun rose over Melbourne’s Brighton Baths last week, more than 50 older Australians, including Levande’s own residents, dared to bare all and took the plunge in a sunrise skinny dip. The swim was captured by former Olympic synchronised swimmer, turned fine art photographer, Francesca Owen, who produced a series of images that reclaim what ageing can truly look like.

“When Adhesive came to us with the idea of hosting a mass skinny dip with older Australians, we knew that it was an idea many organisations, let alone organisations in our sector, would never pursue. However, we also knew it was the perfect way to capture the optimism, confidence and sense of possibility we see in our residents every day – and that’s exactly why we wanted to do it,” said Nik Scotcher, chief customer officer at Levande.

Adhesive led the ideation and execution of the earned media campaign, which encompassed event production and management, talent management, research expert engagement, research commission, data analysis and large-scale publicity.

The campaign was underpinned by new Levande research revealing that, while 74% of older Australians feel younger at heart than their biological age, 45% believe society unfairly considers them too old for certain activities, and 54% feel underestimated because of their age.

When asked which activities society might consider them too old to do, showing off their bodies and going skinny dipping ranked first and second respectively, providing a clear validation of the ‘why’ behind the campaign.

“Impactful communications should do more than generate headlines. It should shift consumer perceptions, create connection with audiences, deliver genuine commercial impact and, most importantly of all, share the stories that matter,” stated Mike Maurice, managing director and founder of Adhesive.

“We share Levande’s ambition that retirement living is a category with so much more to say than the traditional narratives allow. We see the conversation is too often shaped by what people assume ageing means, rather than what older Australians actually want from this stage of life. So we knew our job with this campaign was to continue to break through outdated assumptions and tropes with an idea that people genuinely wanted to engage with and share.

“It was bold, unexpected and grounded in a genuine experience. By giving people a reason to stop, look and think differently, we were able to turn a brand message into a national conversation.”

The activation is the latest large-scale earned media exploration of Levande’s Everyday. Exceptional brand platform, which was recently awarded three Effie awards, including the coveted Gold Effie.