Cynthia’s Story

I went to Cannes for the Lions International Festival of Creativity, featuring the world’s most prestigious advertising awards. It’s revered globally for its creative inspiration and opportunities to learn. What a privilege. But it’s equally known for its extreme party scene — where most of the big networking happens for this youth-driven industry.  No mincing words — it wasn't easy for a late-50-something to keep up. I know — being forced to party in the south of France, what a hardship. But the pressure to show that I still fit in, amid a sea of fellow creatives decades younger, felt palpable. 

On the flight home, I began to ask myself — why should I have to keep up? (And to be sure I did quite happily in years past). Despite decades of accomplishments, why should this feat of festive endurance be a litmus test for belonging among my colleagues.

It took some pondering, but here are some answers that have since begun to emerge.

Ageism is complicated. It can be hard to spot, muddled in with a lot of other stuff going on.  It’s often incremental, sometimes just a feeling. But perhaps most important to remember — the bits of embedded ageism that may be happening to you , even in the most subtle ways, are not you. Only you can hand over your mojo, so to speak. 

Let me explain.

I worked for big advertising agencies for over 30 years and make no mistake, I had success. But in the end, there was this growing feeling that I was no longer moving onto bigger opportunities. My ideas weren’t floating to the top. My voice felt diminished.  New research from the Canadian Marketing Association states 44% of marketers believe age-based discrimination is tolerated in their workplaces, more than other forms of discrimination.  Read, it wasn’t all in my head.

And though for sure it was never blatant, I began to recognize a slow erosion of my professional self esteem. That’s when I knew it was time to leave.  

But leaving that specific environment did not mean escaping. And that’s the key. Ageism, even in its subtlest form, wants to tell you you’re irrelevant.  Don’t listen. Instead, scan the horizon and figure out where your talents and abilities intersect with the world, anywhere in life — work or otherwise.  That, I believe, is where we find our “magic hour” of this time of life. It’s gratifying too to have chipped away at what Ashton Applewhite describes as a root ill of ageism — ultimately ageism pits our younger selves against our older selves, with a silent, but pervasive fear of and disdain for getting older. 

For me, embracing my magic hour meant creating a new environment in which my hard-won wisdom and proven creative instincts could flourish. At last to fully indulge my entrepreneurial spirit.  But also to create a place where the best of generations could come together, to challenge long-held standards of beauty, what’s cool, who’s cool.  

Fast forward 7 years.

My co-creation The DELI Production Agency is now a successful, fast-growing  production company serving an international advertising community. And oh the joy —  watching it grow, making my own decisions, innovating with traditional media and mastering new ones.  But most of all, I love supporting emerging talent in a way that flows both ways. I call it reciprocal mentoring, which is to say — I’m constantly learning too. What a gift.

For me, this experience was the foundation of Twinagers. I began imagining with my twin sister Leslie White, a community of diverse “magic hour” people like me who continue to contribute and celebrate what's possible at this age. 

I think of my 32-year-old daughter and 30-year-old son as we launch this platform to broaden the conversations on aging.  I want Twinagers to help make the world they age into more inclusive and supportive to all.  To ensure they feel confident in what they have to contribute at any age. 

So yes, embracing our  “magic hour” potential is about more than ourselves.  It’s about leading by example the change we want to see.  Creating new social narratives around what aging looks like.  At last tackling that last sanctioned “ism” in a world often pivoting toward inclusivity at breathtaking speed.

That’s my big blue-sky hope for Twinagers —  to inspire everyone, all generations, to embrace the journey of aging.  And how empowering — achieving all this is in each of our hands.

As always, connect with us in whatever way works best for you — Twin-agers.com, Instagram: @twinagers, Tik Tok: @twinagers and on LinkedIn: Twinagers.