‘Retirement Fear’ Monster Encourages People to Plan For Their Financial Future in Ad Council Spot

According to a new AARP survey, more than 1 in 5 (22%) adults have no retirement savings. Nearly 2 in 3 (64%) are worried that they will not have enough money to last in their later years. Today, AARP and the Ad Council launched 'This Is Pretirement,' a new, fully integrated campaign that encourages those thinking about retirement to plan for their financial future.

'Pretirement' refers to the period in people’s lives—typically during their 40s and 50s—when they are closer to retirement than they are to the start of their career and beginning to plan for the next phase of their life. 

The campaign is targeted toward people in their 40s and 50s, encouraging them to think about retirement planning through a series of Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) that highlight free planning tools, including being able to receive a personalised retirement savings action plan.

“Planning for retirement is daunting,” said Mary Liz Burns, senior director of communications strategy at AARP. “This is where Pretirement comes in: it offers small steps that people can take now to help build a more secure financial future and accomplish goals like paying off debt, building an emergency fund, and understanding retirement savings options.”   

Research shows that while 86% of working adults recognized the importance of preparing for retirement, only about 40% feel they are prepared to retire. Adults ages 50 and older report a significant gap between what they have saved so far compared to what they expect to need in retirement ($275K vs. $750K).

“Planning for retirement looks different for everyone and there is no one right way to prepare,” said Michelle Hillman, chief campaign development officer at the Ad Council. “The new This Is Pretirement platform empowers those in their Pretirement years—when retirement feels closer than ever—to take control of their financial future through small actionable steps.”

The new creative was developed pro bono by adam&eveDDB New York. The PSAs, titled “Fear No More,” feature a creature that serves as a physical manifestation of the fear many individuals experience when thinking about planning for retirement. The PSAs focus on a woman in Pretirement who discovers her funky, furry friend that helps her demystify retirement planning while showing her how to take small steps to better prepare at ThisIsPretirement.org.

“We know that as many people enter their 40s, the mere thought of retirement and preparing for the future can be scary. It’s like a monster in the closet. It will just keep getting scarier if you ignore it,” said Jason Ashlock and Paulo Junger, executive creative directors at adam&eveDDB New York. “But, if people start planning now for the future, that metaphorical monster might turn out to be a sweetheart. To bring that notion to life, our team created a monster that seems scary at first but in fact, has some very practical and helpful advice.”  

Since its July 2017 launch, AARP and the Ad Council’s overarching “Saving for Retirement” campaign has received over $146 million in donated media support. The new creative work will appear in donated media nationwide in TV, radio, digital, out of home, print and social-optimized video formats.