Amplifying the Voices of Older Adults on Issues That Matter

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid have helped generations of older Americans live with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. Today, more than 69 million people rely on Social Security, while Medicaid provides essential health coverage to more than 17 million adults age 50 and older with limited incomes — many of whom also depend on Medicare.
In 2025, concerns about the future of Social Security and potential changes to Medicare and Medicaid loomed large for older Americans and their families. In response, AARP set out to amplify the voices of everyday Americans while reinforcing our long standing role as a defender of these vital programs.
THE CONCEPT:
Our campaign was built around a community centered strategy designed to make a complex policy conversation feel personal and shareable. Rather than leading with statistics, we led with people —featuring first person perspectives from AARP community members.
A coordinated, multi channel approach powered two waves of storytelling, developed through close collaboration across our Advocacy, Editorial, Social, and Studios teams. The first wave featured written profiles paired with striking portrait photography and video interviews, highlighting the real world impact that cuts or changes to these programs would have on older adults. These stories were repackaged for social using compelling quotes and powerful visuals.
A second wave or storytelling became a key feature of AARP’s national campaign marking Social Security’s 90th anniversary. Additional stories were captured through portrait photography, quote cards, and short form video clips shared across AARP’s flagship and AARP Advocates social platforms.
THE RESULTS:
By centering authentic, first person storytelling, the campaign humanized complex policy issues and delivered strong results. The top performing social graphic ranked among AARP’s top 10 posts of 2025, and the series generated overwhelmingly positive sentiment – driving a more than 100% increase in positive comments on these topics year over year.
In total, the storytelling series reached 5.3 million people and generated:
— 498,000 engagements, including more than 12,000 comments and 27,500 shares
— 2.24M video views
— 146,000 unique visitors