TLDR
Olay Australia's new social campaign films women listening to an AI voice assistant describe the signs of ageing as wrinkles and sagging skin, and asks Australians to rewrite the list. Olay's YouGov survey of 1,009 women found 90% say getting older has changed them for the better.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The film
Olay Australia's new campaign starts with a question put to an AI voice assistant: what are the most common signs of ageing? The answer is deeper wrinkles and sagging from collagen loss. A group of women listening call it heartbreaking and ask why none of what they feel, strength and being sure of themselves, makes the list.[2]
The campaign, "Rewrite the Signs of Ageing", runs on Olay Australia's YouTube and Instagram accounts and asks Australians to share how they would rewrite #SignsofAgeing, tagging @olayau.[1] It was shot in Perth with Australian actresses.[3]
What Olay's survey found
Olay commissioned YouGov Australia to survey 1,009 women aged 30 to 60 between 29 September and 7 October. Two in three, 66%, said they would turn down a button that instantly made them 20 years younger, and 90% said getting older had changed them for the better. Wisdom was the most common reason (55%), followed by feeling more at peace (49%) and being better at setting boundaries (46%).[1]
Only 15% said they actively want to look younger than their age, while 68% want to look good for their age or regardless of it. Yet 72% still associate ageing with fine lines and wrinkles, against 29% who associate it with greater confidence. More than half, 56%, feel more confident than they did ten years ago, but only 31% feel grateful about their next milestone birthday.[1]
Arguing with the answer
Most beauty campaigns argue with an ideal on a billboard or in a magazine. Olay's target is the answer a machine gives, and its campaign page says AI-generated results about the signs of ageing focus too narrowly on physical change.[1] Mumbrella compared it with Dove, which in 2024 recreated its Real Beauty campaign to take on unrealistic beauty standards in the AI era.[2]
The work comes from Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, part of Procter & Gamble's PG One team at Publicis, with chief creative officer Ajay Vikram and executive creative director Sarah Ko. Beautiful Pictures produced it in Australia, directed by Shawn Butcher.[3] Shapr is handling public relations.[2]
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
