#FOGO… life gives us the opportunity to invent ourselves…again and again

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is three years into their “Get Old” campaign, which is aimed at sharing health-related information while also spreading the message that the more you embrace aging, the more you will enjoy it. They’ve even created their own hashtag, #FOGO (“Fear of Getting Old”) – a clever play on the #FOMO (“Fear of Missing Out”) that’s long been part of the social media vernacular.

The latest wave of the campaign includes a beautifully produced corporate video called “Commencement”. It makes a parallel between graduating from college in the younger years to “graduating” into a new era of life in the later years. If the 30s to 50s are spent building careers and raising families, then the 60s represent a time of new adventure and opportunity. Retirement is the new graduation. 62 is the new 22.

The voiceover notes that “life gives us the opportunity to invent ourselves…..again and again and again.” The same could be said of a successful video marketing strategy giving a company the opportunity to reinvent itself – one poll found that this campaign resulted in a 45 – 55% increase in consumers’ opinion of Pfizer as a trustworthy company.

The “Get Old” site contains a lot of great content for viewers of any age, including this link to some of the most inspiring commencement speeches of all time.

We’re suckers for a good commencement speech! Here are a few of our all-time faves: George Saunders and Sheryl Sandberg and David Foster Wallace.

Pfizer’s “Get Old” Campaign Gets Youthful  |  Medical Marketing & Media