Age UK logo and marketing message

Yesterday I had a call from Marketing Magazine about the new Age UK ad campaign.

Before talking about that I thought I had better catch-up with the news and say something about the new logo.

This is a paraphrase of the press release.

'Life loop' is the branding choice of charity formed by the merger of Help the Aged and Age Concern and is appearing on the websites of Age Concern England and Help the Aged. UK.

It was designed by branding agency Corporate Edge . My last musing about the new name can be found here.

"It shows life in the round," said a spokeswoman. "Not a straight line that starts with young and ends with old, but a loop of vitality, a circle of life. It represents the continuous, seamless support that Age UK offers."

So there you are.

This brings me back to the new ad campaign that is reported in today’s Marketing with the image of the older lady.


Here is the press blurb:

The “Our power is our number” ad drive is the first campaign the charity has launched since unveiling its new identity, and is part of a wider effort to build awareness of the new brand and the services the organisation offers to older consumers. The campaign launches on 5 April and includes television and print advertising and a direct mail drive to 2.5 million people.

Age UK works with creative agencies Karmarama and Kittcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw, digital agency Agency.com and media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD. These are all heavy hitters.

My reaction to the campaign was this quote.

“The election is an obvious issue [for Age UK] to build a campaign around because of the propensity of older people to vote”, but he says the strapline veers towards a “threatening tone” without describing Age UK’s role.

Often when you make a quick remarket to a journalist you wish you had kept your mouth shut. In this case I stick with my comment.

It was clear that the journalist wasn’t too sure what Age UK did or was ‘for’. I know about the great work that Age Concern does at a local level but I am still very hazy about its main purpose in life. I would be the first to admit that this is my fault but I suspect I am not alone.

It is very easy to write a blog and criticise but I do think there is a fundamental issue of communicating the new organisation’s purpose. I am not sure if “Our Power is Our Number” is going to make things much better.

Here is the Age UK manifesto.


Dick Stroud