Published in Pawtucket Times on March 7, 2016

With the youngest of the aging baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, reaching their fifties, AARP launches a new ad campaign geared at connecting people’s hopes and dreams. According to a statement, this initiative was built on the foundation laid by the 2014 launch of Real Possibilities and “You Don’t Know ‘AARP,’” last month, the nonprofit unveiled its latest ad campaign that shines a spotlight on individuals tackling everything from brain health to new careers, introducing a new meme, “We Hear You.”

As part of AARP’s renewed focus on listening and responding to Americans over age 50, “We Hear You” highlights the many ways the organization celebrates life in extended middle age and helps people turn their dreams into realities. Also new in 2016, the ads feature AARP’s CEO Jo Ann Jenkins delivering the iconic “We Hear You” line to underscore the organization’s genuine commitment to helping baby boomers take control of their lives and their futures.

“We’ve seen Real Possibilities and “You Don’t Know ‘AARP’” really take hold over the last two years,” said AARP Senior Vice President of Brand Integration Barbara Shipley. “Now, we have a chance to add more momentum by putting a human face on the brand. The campaign shows very real people expressing wants and needs in terms of careers, travel, caregiving, brain health and fraud protection. It also introduces Jo Ann and her “We Hear You” message to prove we are in tune with what people are looking for at this time of their life.”

According to AARP, since Jenkins became AARP’s CEO in 2014, she tirelessly advocated for changing outdated beliefs and sparking new solutions so that everyone can live and age as they choose. The advertising campaign echoes many themes from her forthcoming book Disrupt Aging, most notably “own your age.” The book is now available for preorder on Amazon for $15.87 (hardcover). Copies will be available on April 5.

The first of the ads features AARP’s Life Reimagined program and will air during NBC’s primetime all-star tribute to Jim Burrows on Sunday, February 21. The second ad featuring the award-winning AARP the Magazine will air during the 88th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 28. The remaining spots will be rolled out throughout the year.

Redefining How We Grow Old

Next month, AARP/CEO Jo Ann Jenkins releases her new 272 page book, Disrupt Aging: A Bold New Path to Living Your Best Life at Every Age. AARP’s top official suggests it’s time to redefine what it means to grow old in America. Throughout its pages the Northern Virginia resident encourages readers to re-think the negative stories they consistently tell themselves and others, urging them to come together to change both the conversation about aging and its reality. While sharing these ideas with others, and meeting fearless people working to change what it means to age in America, Jo Ann was inspired to write her book.

Jenkins’s life experience and affiliation with AARP, the nation’s largest aging organization representing over 38 million members, brings her the needed life experiences to pen this tome. She is the chief executive officer of AARP. Previously, she served as its COO and, before that, president of AARP Foundation, AARP’s affiliated charity. Before joining AARP, she was the COO of the Library of Congress. She has received the Library of Congress Distinguished Service Award and in 2015 was named Influencer of the Year by the Nonprofit Times.
“60 Is Not the New 40.”

Jenkins notes that everyone has watched ads on TV or seen and in magazines—”50 is the new 30″ or “60 is the new 40.” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins disagrees. 50 is 50, and she, for one, likes the look of it. In her highly focused but down-to-earth personal style, Jenkins says Disrupt Aging is not about defying aging or denying aging. It’s about “owning” your age.

In Disrupt Aging, Jenkins focuses on three core areas—health, wealth, and self—to show people how to embrace opportunities and change the way society looks at getting older. Here, she chronicles her own journey and that of others who are making their mark as disruptors to show readers how we can be active, healthy, and happy as we get older. Through engaging narrative, she touches on all the important issues facing people over age 50 today, from caregiving and mindful living to building age-friendly communities and making our money last.

Disrupt Aging provides readers practical, hands-on, highly useful information for a broad range of key issues, including: Taking Control of Your Health; Choosing Where You Live – or Want to Live; Financing Your Future; and Putting Your Experience to Work.

In Praise of…

Jenkins’s philosophy on aging has touched a chord with a number of aging experts and prominent persons who give their thumbs up to the project.

Arianna Huffington, cofounder, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, says “Jo Ann Jenkins doesn’t just challenge the stereotypes of aging, she reduces them to rubble, showing that our later years can be just as productive, meaningful, and purposeful as our primary working years. Disrupt Aging is for anyone who insists on living a life of connection, engagement, expansion, and possibility—at any age.”

“Jo Ann Jenkins’s Disrupt Aging is spot-on: every single year is a gift. By confronting the most common stereotypes about aging, this book will help us all live each year to the fullest,” adds Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.Org.

Even Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion throws in his two cents about Disrupt Aging. . “Jo Ann Jenkins believes that age and experience can expand life’s possibilities for all of us. In this personal and thought-provoking book, she inspires us to seize the opportunities that longer lives give us and to embrace aging as something to look forward to, not something to fear.” Adds, Dan Marino, former NFL Quarterback, “In Disrupt Aging, Jo Ann Jenkins lays out a game plan for living your best life regardless of your age.”

Jenkins says that her book is for anyone who wants to continue exploring new possibilities in their later years, to celebrate new discoveries over declines, and to seek out new opportunities to live the best life there is. To order Disrupt Aging, go to http://www.amazon.com.

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