Why do we look after old objects but not old people? It’s a confronting question. It should make you uncomfortable. It’s one of the questions in a campaign by agency, Neverland, for charity, Age UK, designed to “change how we age”.
The charity’s new brand strategy has been developed across the last year with Neverland who interviewed and worked with stakeholders from across the charity and its network. The older UK population is growing, increasingly diverse and facing substantial inequalities. The charity wants society to change so that all older people can live the lives they want, and that tomorrow’s generation of older people are able to arrive in later life better prepared for the challenges that ageing can bring.
Leading the campaign is a film directed by Oscar winning director, James March, director of The Theory of Everything and Man on Wire and produced by Magna Studios. It is built around the uncomfortable truth that, as a society, we value old paintings and antiques more than we value older people. Actor, Richard Durden, leads the spot by setting out the scale of the issue and the work that Age UK are doing to change this. The film ends with a rallying call urging the public to support their work and get behind – Let’s Change How We Age.
In OOH, three powerful posters use a combination of images shot by James Day, that show people viewing paintings of older people in a gallery, and AI generated paintings that show older people struggling with isolation, the health and social care system and financial challenges. Neverland’s creative and design team led the generation of the AI paintings.
As part of the national media buy for the OOH, MG OMD has carefully selected posters sites in the proximity of museums across England to reinforce the powerful message. They will be seen near over 40 museums including the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Design Museum and Migration Museum in London, The Portico Library in Manchester, the Reading Museum, the Stevenage Museum and the Classic Boat Museum on the Isle of Wight.
The AI paintings at the heart of the OOH work will be used across social and as part of an influencer partnership with @thefineartcollective, famous for its in-depth reviews of art. Through the partnership, the account will start reviewing the artworks before revealing that the works are not in fact famous portraits, but part of Age UK’s campaign.
The full campaign will run across TV, VOD, cinema, social, OOH and through influencer partnerships.
Paul Farmer, Age UK CEO, stated, “The aim of the campaign is to question where we, as a society and as individuals, often place value. Age UK believes that negative attitudes often hold many back from making the most of later life. We want this to change.
“We cannot continue to ignore the fact that our population is ageing and ageing faster than the resources available for the support this requires. We need to face up to the reluctance of many to talk about, or prepare for, the implications of getting older. We quite simply have to change the way we think about age or risk being totally unprepared for the shape of our society and economy in a few years’ time.
“This is why we are embarking on a new long-term strategy which looks at how to manage the challenge of supporting, valuing and including an ageing population, alongside encouraging everyone to look at what steps they can take to ensure they will lead their best possible later life.
“These changes need to happen now, before we find ourselves sleep-walking into becoming an older society that is increasingly poorly equipped to cope.”
Lola Neves, chief strategy officer at Neverland, said: “We all want to live but none of us want to age. ‘Let’s change how we age’ is such a simple line but is packed with depth and gives Age UK a clear and simple direction for everything they do as an organisation to drive real change in how we approach and view age in our society.”
Credits:
Client: Age UK
CEO: Paul Farmer
Chief Brand and Communications Officer: Louisa Fyans
Head of Brand: Kathi Hall
Senior Brand Marketing Manager: Sophie Bowler
Brand Projects Manager: Nancia Leggett
Creative & Brand Strategy Agency: Neverland
CCO: Jon Forsyth
Joint ECDs: Andy Clough & Richard McGrann
Creative Director: Lloyd Daniel
Creative: Sam Creedon
Head of Production: Amy Coomber
Executive Producer: Alex Cowley
Producer: Olivia Hannigan
Production Assistant: Tyler Williams
CSO: Lola Neves
Strategy Director: Laura Kinzett
Strategist: Natalia Robinson
Head of Client Service: Theo Jenkins
Account Director: Kate Middleton
Account Executive: India Marshall
Media Agency: MG OMD
Executive Director: Geraldine Ridgway
Planning Business Director: Hannah Gardner
Account Manager: Jack Willers
Production Company: Magna Studios
Director: James Marsh
Executive Producer: James Sorton
Producer: Giles Skillicorn
Production Manager: Anoushka Abel
Production Assistant: Sarah Dines
1st AD: George Cassavetti
Director of Photography: Stephen Roach
1st Assistant Camera: Tim Allan
2nd Assistant Camera: Evangeline Perkins
Production Designer: Jon Henson
Sound Operator: Mike Palmer
Edit House: The Assembly Rooms
Producer: Daniel Breheny
Editors: Sam Rice-Edwards, Sam Allen, Edward Cooper & Andrew Cross
Post-production: Electric Theatre Collective
Executive Producer: Holly Treacy
Producer: Katie Sharpe
Colourist: Conor Coolbear
VFX Supervisor: Hani AlYousif
Audio Post House: 750mph
Executive Producer: Olivia Ray
Producer: Aishah Amodu
Sound Engineer: Sam Ashwell
ADR Engineer: Mike Bovill
Music Company: Skidmore Music
Music Supervisor: Jemma Skidmore
Stills Photographer: James Day
Agent & Executive Producer: Siobhan Squire
Digital Operator: Paul Blackshaw
Retouching: Dennis Post Production
Artworking & Supply: Dippin’ Sauce
