AARP has launched a campaign designed to gently frighten more Americans into thinking about their retirement planning.

Last November, the membership association for Americans 50 and older debuted “This Is Pretirement,” an ad campaign designed to encourage people in the 40s and 50s to think about their retirement plans. A July 2023 AARP survey found that 22 percent of adults have no retirement savings, and nearly two-thirds (64 percent) worry they will not have “enough money to last through their later years,” according to a release about the campaign.

“This Is Pretirement” was developed in collaboration with the Ad Council, a nonprofit that produces national public-service campaigns. The television and online clip, titled “Fear No More,” uses a furry, intimidating creature inspired by Where the Wild Things Are and Labyrinth to symbolize the anxiety many have around retirement planning. The ad was developed pro bono by the advertising firm adam&eveDDB New York.

According to a statement by AARP spokesperson Mary Liz Burns, the campaign is designed to help alleviate fear around retirement planning, and prescribes small, doable actions to get started.

“[The campaign] offers small steps that people can take now to help build a more secure financial future and accomplish goals like paying off debt, building an emergency fund, and understanding retirement savings options,” said Burns.

The advertisements include prompts to visit a dedicated website, thisispretirement.org, where visitors can learn more about investment options and build a customized savings plan.

Getting people to pay attention to topics they’d prefer to avoid requires some innovation both in terms of words and images, according to leaders at adam&eve. “To cut through the clutter, we’re leaning into new terminology,” executive creative directors Jason Ashlock and Paulo Junger told the ad trade publication Muse by Clio. “‘Pretirement’ is something we think will resonate with people aging into their 40s and 50s. We also know that big furry creatures aren’t the norm in the financial service and retirement saving categories.”

The campaign concept taps into the issue that retirement savings have as much to do with emotions as they do raw numbers. AARP research found that a majority of working adults (86 percent) recognized retirement savings as important, but only 40 percent feel prepared to retire. Respondents to a 2023 AARP survey reported a gap between their current savings and what they expect they’ll need when they retire.

According to the release, AARP’s overall “Saving for Retirement” campaign, running since 2017, has received more than $146 million in donated media support. The “This Is Pretirement” campaign is featured on TV, radio, digital, social media, and other outlets.