In particular, Kinsley takes issue with ninety-somethings bragging about their longevity as if were “some sort of virtue—as if living to ninety were primarily the result of hard work or prayer, rather than good genes and never getting run over by a truck.” He goes on. “Even if you add a few years through your own initiative, by doing all the right things in terms of diet, exercise, sleep, vitamins, and so on, why is that to your moral credit?”

Advertisements and marketing campaigns are by and large built on the logical premise that the goal of life is to live as long as possible and to be as healthy as possible. That works well enough in the upbeat worlds of cosmetics and nutritional supplements. But there are some industries that are having to dig deeper—all the way down to the bedrock of issues having to do with the meaning of life.

Some may err overselling longevity as the moral equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize. But others err in the opposite direction—without even knowing it. Direct marketing maven Kurt Medina uses the example of the misguided marketers (note plural!) who routinely decorate long-term care and assisted living ads with photos of an aging husband and wife walking into the sunset. Think about it. The graphics are telling them to hurry it along and buy the product already, because their sun is just about to go dark.

Financial advisors, for example—many in their twenties and thirties—had better raise, think about and make peace with the big questions in their own lives, if they hope that the guidance they give clients is not to ring false. (And if they can’t make peace, at least admit that they’re grappling with the issues, themselves.)

I’m not here to say that boomers fall into one camp or another, when it comes to mortality. But I am saying that if the marketer doesn’t think through the words and images he/she is using, she may well be delivering unintended messages.

The solution? Listen deep. One thing boomers like to do is talk. Don’t be shy about asking the big questions—not only of your potential clients and customers, but of yourself.

Carol Orsborn