• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

The guy giving New Yorkers the finger in the above ad is local street basketball star George Papoutsis.

He joins Argentinian tango stars Mónica Romero and Omar Ocampo, along with other folks ranging in age from their 40s to late 70s, in “Give Us the Finger,” an Oura smart ring campaign from the nice&frank agency.

The finger in question is the index finger, where Oura says its ring “captures the most precise and consistent health data.”

The target audience includes people younger than those shown in the campaign, with CMO Doug Sweeny telling Marketing Daily that Oura is “seeing a lot of growth with Gen Z and millennial cohorts, specifically ages 18-45.” That demographic, he says, is “particularly engaged when it comes to proactive health and wellness. They’re experiencing heightened anxiety about aging, driven by increased awareness of chronic health risks, mental health challenges, and growing financial pressures related to long-term well-being.”

The folks in the ads? Sweeny says Gen Z-ers and millennials “admire individuals who age with strength, vitality, and influence, making aspirational depictions of older adults both inspiring and highly resonant.

“When you think of health tech ads, you don’t typically see the people we’ve chosen for our campaign,” Sweeny elaborates. “We’re moving away from featuring only the traditional view of what wellness looks like, which is typically young, healthy athletes.”

Through out-of-home ads in Los Angeles, Miami and London, in addition to the Big Apple and other major cities, along with  :60,:30 and :15 video spots, podcasts, paid social, paid search and digital sponsorships Oura’s campaign is focusing not only on the index finger, but on “moments of focus and triumph,” such as a man playing the piano, a woman reaching a mountaintop, and a chess player about to checkmate his opponent. The media agency is Media Hub.

The campaign will run through the end of June, with the TV buy including such programming as the NBA finals on ABC, starting June 5.

Each video spot ends with the lines “If life is what you’re after…give us the finger.”

Sweeny says the campaign seeks to “position a long, healthy life as a modern aspiration” by “reframing aging from a far-off problem to something personal, proactive, and aspirational. We want people to watch this ad and see that the goal is to age while feeling great in every decade.”

Those Millennials and Gen-Zers, he says, “were the largest adopters of wearables in 2024, accounting for over 60% of new device users…..Market forecasts project double-digit annual growth in wearable usage among this segment through at least 2026, signaling a strong opportunity to build loyalty among younger users who are actively seeking tools to manage their health, track biometrics, and stay ahead of aging.”

Back in New York, as if being given the finger in the subway isn’t enough, Oura is also planning an activation titled “Give NYC the Finger.” Besides the name and that it will occur in the coming weeks, Sweeny says he can’t divulge any other details yet.