Aspercreme, Opella’s topical pain
relief brand that’s been targeting older Americans, has teamed with
actor Danny Trejo to launch what it’s calling the “KO! Boomer” movement, described as “a national campaign to reclaim the narrative around aging, and combat ageist
stereotypes.”
“I’ve faced down cartels, assassins, aliens, but today I’m facing my toughest opponent yet: the internet,” declares the 82-year-old “tough
guy” actor in a hero video.
Asserting that the web defines a boomer as “an out-of-touch, clueless elder who doesn’t
know how to .pdf a document and complains about lawns,” Trejo laughs, asks “who writes this garbage?” and proclaims, “I ride motorcycles, I lift weights, I run my own
restaurant empire. And I don’t slow down for nobody.”
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“So Aspercreme and I are teaming up to attack this BS and turn ‘OK, Boomer’ into ‘KO!
Boomer.’” Trejo continues. “This type of crap ends now…Let’s shut down the losers who want to shut us down. It’s time to fight back.”
The
campaign includes paid media via Havas, earned media via Omnicom’s Current Global, a petition calling for a new definition of “boomer” and a sweepstakes. The latter offers a prize of
a $4,000 gift card towards a Backroads active travel vacation, and a pair of Trejo-autographed boxing gloves valued st $500.
The sweepstakes runs through September, with the overall
campaign moving into a “sustain phase” through year-end, Aspercreme’s Senior Brand Lead Beth Schwartz tells Marketing Daily. That includes seasonal content for a 50+ target
audience including such topics as “recovery tips by sport, joint health, multigenerational travel, and long-term health planning.”
Schwartz elaborates on how the lidocaine brand is
“sustaining a movement” by “every channel pulling together”:
“National press and trade/lifestyle outreach drive
initial discovery; talent-driven social extends that into culture in real time; and paid media adds scale through whitelisting and dark ads targeted against active-aging
and joint/muscle-pain audience cohorts.
“Underneath it all,” she continues, “an always on social listening function works as a
content flywheel, converting real-time ‘OK Boomer’ commentary into fresh organic content.”
In addition to Danny Trejo, campaign talent includes last
season’s 58-year college freshman football player and Aspercreme signee Tom
Cillo; running advocate Mirna Valerio; and the web’s “Bearded Boomer,” ju-jitsu and dance influencer Marco Hurtado. All are to show that “Boomers
are anything but sidelined,” says Schwartz.
The petition, meanwhile, probably won’t be presented anywhere but to the media, she confirms, with
“signature milestones” being shared as it “builds momentum.”
What should be the new definition of “boomer” be?
Trejo shares his idea on Aspercreme’s KOBoomer.com page:
“Boomer (noun)
An unstoppable force of nature. Tough as nails. Been
through the wringer, knocked out the pain, and still lives life at full volume.
See also: Danny Trejo.”