47 yo. CD in New York. Full time. Love my job. And I don’t think I reached my peak yet. But I live in constant fear of the industry ejecting me just because I’m the oldest creative in my shop. Someone else?

What do you mean “someone else”? Anyone above 40 is constantly thinking about this. I’m 52. I’ve been afraid of this since my mid 30’s.

I can tell you what I try to do to survive. Your mileage may vary. I don’t have all the answers. But I do what I think helps:

Don’t just be the oldest. Be the best. Your experience should count for something. Everyone should know and respect that, but it’s up to you to show it.

Don’t stop learning. Ever. Learn from young people too. Just because you may be the best, doesn’t mean you’re beyond learning. Staying humble and hungry, is this industry’s fountain of youth.

Don’t “How do you do fellow kids!”. You’re not 25 or 30. You’re old. Own it graciously. Listen to the kids. You’re not going to get their lingo or youth culture. That’s ok. Trust them with that. But just as with any target market, no matter the age, audiences are reached with strong insights. Young people are humans. Human truths don’t change across generations.

I’m a freelancer currently. I still feel like I’m earning the respect of people when they call me to solve a problem they can’t crack. Many times for a younger CD.

Try to stay in decent shape and look younger. Not in like a Madonna kind of way. Age gracefully and own it. But it helps if you can look 10 years younger, which honestly it’s not that hard.

There are three old people I always found inspirational in this business. One is Lee Clow. He was old AF and was respected as a legend until the day he retired. I believe TBWA really has fallen apart creative since his departure.

The others were a team of freelance CDs I met when I worked at GSD&M. They were like 70 and 65. I don’t know how they managed to do this, but they pitched, won, and did 100% of the creative for one of the agency’s biggest clients. They didn’t have a team. It was just both of them. And when I say 100%, I mean… they also directed the spots. One of them invented a rigs and slings and shit that they used for filming things just the way they wanted. These were not easy shoots to direct. And these guys were good. I don’t know what arrangement they had with the agency, but they were not employees, and they were making bank.

Im 44 and while I don’t fear the industry ejecting me (if it did, I’d use imagination and creativity to find new options), I readily accept that I’m on a very different page to people 20 years younger than me. And that’s fine - I don’t want to be on their page.

To be honest, I don’t think it’s the industry as a whole that rejects people at say, 47. It’s the places that use razzle dazzle and shiny things to take advantage of younger people who don’t know any better.

There’s huge sections of the creative industry that quietly thrive without offering people trinkets and pizzas for working weekends making shitty social content that’s gone and forgotten again in 24 hours.

Stay interested in things, stay aware of what’s happening, and stay away from trying to be the Zoomers’ friend. Those are my rules anyway 😂

I got to 56. Then ousted by a vindictive ECD who replaced the guy that hired me. He resented that I had made much better stuff and worked in top agencies. I was pissed at first but now, I’m like cool with it. I know he’ll never get close to the age I got to and I’m out of the industry and happy. It will happen to all of us. You can get pushed out without a parachute like I did, or you can plan to leave with one on. I’m very lucky that I’m financially ok and I’ve found an unrelated job I quite enjoy. It doesn’t pay a lot, but I don’t need a lot. Friday beers at my local bar and I’m good with that.

I don’t what it’s like in your market, but we’re finding it difficult to find competent juniors. Ad schools and the ad industry are not attracting young talent like they used to — and juniors aren’t getting as much mentorship these days from all the CDs on Teams calls. Agencies need people who can actually do the work, so maybe talented old creatives will be sticking around longer these days if they manage to stay relevant and are constantly learning.

Yes. As a 40+ woman who, up until recently, worked at a big shop for a beauty client (“fight the signs of skin aging”) this was on my mind all the time. I got Botox, I dutifully got my hair colored before every client preso. But I also made sure that I and my 40+ partner (a real king) - were mentors to juniors and mid-level creatives, learning from them while helping them develop their craft. That’s the thing. You stay relevant if you stay in the game, pay attention to the culture, and remain open to learn and change. Now I’m in house at a tech company, working alongside lifelong researchers and scientists who don’t give a sh*t about fine lines or the “elevens”. I still do a single process and a little Bo now and then - because why not? Best of luck, all - it’s not over yet!

I’m 69 and for some reason the youngsters think I’m as cool as Miles Davis.

I’m 36 and already scared lol. But I’m a woman, our aging is more revolting ❤️

Love this thread

Turning 50 this year, and got laid off from my agency job 2 years ago. I have a full time client-side job that I kinda hate, because it’s mostly doing boring ass sizzle videos and product development, but I’ve pretty much had to accept that agency life is over for me, because hardly anyone even responds to my emails anymore.

Wish it weren’t so. You are in jeopardy. Work hard to develop freelance now. Still so happy you love ur job.

That fear is entirely intentional, in many cases.

Embrace your diversity as a Gen X, and be FEARLESS with amazing results when trying new ideas. Remember, the greatest post covid thing about being Gen X is that we are the ones who had to fight for our right to exist and survive from the time we could move on our own, deeming us the “FEARLESS and SAVAGE” type. . If you’re a younger sibling, you’ll understand what I mean.
Post covid:
We are not as afraid as our parents or our children. People need to think about that FACT.
Keep it ballsy, fellow Gen X❤️