DEVK Bets on the Longevity Craze to Make Pensions Feel Fun
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: German insurer DEVK and agency Grabarz XCT have launched ‘Einfach besser alt werden’, a humorous campaign that hijacks the wellness-driven ‘longevity’ trend to sell retirement saving to 18–40s across TV, Netflix and social.
Riding a wellness trend into a very boring category
German insurer DEVK and agency Grabarz XCT have launched ‘Einfach besser alt werden’ (‘simply age better’), a campaign that does something most pension advertising never manages: it is genuinely funny. The idea hijacks the ‘longevity’ trend — the wellness obsession with living longer and better — and points it somewhere unexpected.
The film’s joke is simple. People now optimise nutrition, sleep, exercise and stress, and queue up for cold-water plunges, all to add healthy years. But a good old age, DEVK argues, takes more than an ice bath — it takes money. The campaign reframes retirement saving as just another longevity habit, sitting naturally alongside the green smoothies.
A media plan built around where under-40s actually are
Crucially, DEVK is not buying daytime TV and hoping. The campaign targets 18-to-40-year-olds and runs across TV, Netflix and connected TV, plus Instagram, YouTube, online radio, podcasts and even digital screens inside fitness studios — meeting a longevity-minded audience in the exact places they already think about their health.
The craft is serious: the film was produced by Berlin’s Stereo Films and directed by Arrigo Reuss, with media by Pilot Hamburg and social handled by Zum goldenen Hirschen. That spread of channels, wrapped around a single human insight, is what turns a dry product into shareable content.
Timing it to a pensions shake-up
The campaign is not just a creative bet; it is a land-grab. From next year, private pensions in Germany become more attractive thanks to new state subsidies and grants, and providers are lining up campaigns to capture the attention that reform will create.
DEVK marketing head Sebastian Greiner put the strategy plainly: ‘Many invest in their health today so they can enjoy life tomorrow.’ Grabarz XCT’s chief creative, Mattes Hoffmann, added that ‘with a pinch of humour we turn a rather dry subject into a story that’s fun.’ Getting there first, with a smile, is the whole play.
Marketing Minute’s take
This is a masterclass in selling a ‘boring’ category. Rather than explain pensions better, DEVK borrows the cultural energy of a trend its audience already cares about, then uses humour to make the subject approachable instead of anxiety-inducing.
The transferable lesson for any brand in a low-interest category — insurance, utilities, finance, B2B software — is to stop leading with the product and start leading with a feeling or trend people are already leaning into. Attention is earned by being relevant and entertaining, not by being thorough.
Quick FAQ
What is DEVK’s ‘Einfach besser alt werden’ campaign?
A humorous brand campaign by Grabarz XCT that borrows the ‘longevity’ wellness trend to make retirement saving appealing to younger Germans.
Who is the campaign aimed at?
People aged 18 to 40, reached across TV, Netflix, connected TV and social platforms like Instagram, YouTube and podcasts.
Why launch it now?
From next year, new state subsidies make private German pensions more attractive, and providers are racing to own the conversation first.
DEVK has cracked something most finance brands never do: it made a dull product feel current. The trick isn’t a bigger budget — it’s borrowing a trend people already care about and adding humour so the message is welcome, not endured. Any ‘boring’ business can copy that move tomorrow. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The fastest way to sell a ‘boring’ product is to plug it into a trend people already love — then make them laugh.
What’s the most ‘boring’ thing your business sells — and which cultural trend could carry it to a younger audience?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Reporting drawn from Horizont.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
