{"id":4598,"date":"2025-06-17T04:41:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T09:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icom.imagemakers-inc.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=4598"},"modified":"2025-06-17T04:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T09:41:21","slug":"radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Seattle-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnaandstone.com\/\">DNA&amp;STONE<\/a>, an ICOM member agency, has won a prestigious National ADDY Award for its groundbreaking \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/1082002500\">AGING IS LIFE<\/a>\u201d campaign for Aegis Living. This bold, emotionally resonant work challenged cultural perceptions of aging\u2014and brought home more than just accolades.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Created during a profoundly personal time for Chief Creative Officer Michael Boychuk, the campaign explored aging as a shared human experience rather than a feared inevitability. \u201cAs we developed the campaign, I was moving my father into assisted living. He passed shortly after the campaign launched,\u201d Boychuk shared.\u00a0<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The campaign rejected tired clich\u00e9s and sanitized portrayals of senior living. Instead, DNA&amp;STONE leaned into what they call \u201cradical empathy,\u201d inviting audiences to reframe aging not as decline, but as a universal, ongoing part of life that begins at birth.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the three key moves that made the difference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Radical Empathy<\/strong>: Acknowledging aging as a lifelong process helped replace fear with respect and understanding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Clich\u00e9-Free Creativity<\/strong>: The team ditched the pickleball stereotypes, choosing instead to depict the real, raw emotions families face.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reframing Fear<\/strong>: Rather than avoid the realities of aging, the campaign embraced them\u2014spotlighting joy, struggle, and growth alike.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The campaign went far beyond promoting a service, it sparked a meaningful cultural conversation about aging.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis win showcases what happens when agencies truly understand their clients and communities,\u201d said Emma Keenan, ICOM President &amp; CEO. \u201cDNA&amp;STONE connected deeply with cultural truths, and that&#8217;s exactly the approach that drives great work.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This recognition underscores the creative firepower within the ICOM network and reinforces our commitment to driving member growth through meaningful, impactful work.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s keep inspiring each other with radical empathy, and bold, honest storytelling.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4599,"template":"","news_category":[17],"class_list":["post-4598","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news_category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Seattle-based DNA&amp;STONE, an ICOM member agency, has won a prestigious National ADDY Award for its groundbreaking \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d campaign for Aegis Living. This bold, emotionally resonant work challenged cultural perceptions of aging\u2014and brought home more than just accolades. Created during a profoundly personal time for Chief Creative Officer Michael Boychuk, the campaign explored aging [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ICOM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1101\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/\",\"name\":\"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-17T09:41:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg\",\"width\":1101,\"height\":612},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/news-press\\\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"ICOM\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/icomagencies.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM","og_description":"Seattle-based DNA&amp;STONE, an ICOM member agency, has won a prestigious National ADDY Award for its groundbreaking \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d campaign for Aegis Living. This bold, emotionally resonant work challenged cultural perceptions of aging\u2014and brought home more than just accolades. Created during a profoundly personal time for Chief Creative Officer Michael Boychuk, the campaign explored aging [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/","og_site_name":"ICOM","og_image":[{"width":1101,"height":612,"url":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/","url":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/","name":"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d - ICOM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-17T09:41:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/screenshot-2025-06-16-at-17.59.18.jpg","width":1101,"height":612},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/news-press\/radical-empathy-wins-big-dnastone-takes-national-addy-for-aging-is-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Radical Empathy Wins Big: DNA&amp;STONE Takes National ADDY for \u201cAGING IS LIFE\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/","name":"ICOM","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/news\/4598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/4599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icomagencies.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/news_category?post=4598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}