• by Les Luchter , January 6, 2023

William Shatner, who has dealt with tinnitus (ringing in the ears) since his "Star Trek" days, has debuted as the face of HearingLife, an operator of some 700 hearing care centers in 42 states.

A new advertising/marketing campaign, titled “Live Life to Your Fullest,” includes TV spots from The Via Agency.

They began with a :30 social media teaser posted in late December. That was followed by a :60 spot, which launched Jan. 4, nationally on digital media and in local markets on broadcast.  The campaign, running through November, will also include  additional :30 and :15 spots. The media buy was handled in-house by HearingLife.

In the current spot, Shatner uses the sounds of a fireplace, fish tank and parrot to illustrate how viewers can miss things because of hearing loss, which “creeps up on us, but that doesn’t mean we have to live with it. With Hearing Life you can enjoy all of life’s beautiful sounds, like your grandchild or loved one saying ‘I love you.’”

The ad ends with Shatner advising viewers to cal lHearingLife via a toll-free number. 

While hearing health “is something that should be front of mind for all Americans,” Michael Rainiero, HearingLife’s senior director, brand & creative, acknowledges to Marketing Daily that the company does encourage people to “test your ears at 60 years.”  And, “as William Shatner is a beloved icon, we hope he will encourage people, especially older generations, to take action to treat hearing loss, and educate Americans about the importance of caring for your hearing and getting hearing tests, as well as ways to identify hearing loss in your loved ones.

“Live Life to Your Fullest” marks The VIA Agency’s second work for HearingLife. In late 2021, it created a campaign called “Beautiful Sounds,” whose  60, 30, and 15 second spots featured diverse people of all ages extolling the virtues of hearing aids.

Rainiero says that the main objective for the new campaign is to spread awareness for HearingLife and hearing loss education. Campaign success will be tracked by “key KPIs, including awareness, lead generation and appointments.”