Weight Watchers is aiming to get Canadians moving with a new spot promoting its Beyond the Scale program.
The program, which launched earlier this year, focuses on healthier living rather than just losing weight.
“In the past, people have associated Weight Watchers with having to diet and hit a weight-loss goal,” said Andrew Pollock, vice-president of marketing at Weight Watchers Canada. “That’s a lot of pressure on people and we’re trying to encourage a more positive, more holistic, and frankly, more up-to-date convention of health.”
A new TV spot—the second phase of the “Just Watch Me” campaign—promotes Weight Watchers’ focus on “food, fitness and fun,” and shows women doing physical activities such as low-impact aerobics, walking the dog and dancing in the living room.
“The second aspect of Just Watch Me is more about fitness, so in the advertising, you’ll see a bit more activity,” said Pollock. “For our members, it’s what I would call entry-level activity. There’s not a lot of interest in running a marathon right away… so whether it’s low-impact aerobics or walking the dog, it’s that level of fitness that we want our members to be thinking about.”
The 15- and 30-second spots (in both French and English) end with a promotional offer for up to two months free.
Weight Watchers also launched Facebook “Connect,” a private Facebook group where members can share their experiences and support one another in safe, secure environment. It revamped WeightWatchers.ca, too, making it easier for people to sign up, said Pollock.
“We have good awareness [of the program], but it’s clearly something we need to keep building on,” said Pollock. “We’re trying to create more of a movement toward overall fitness and health, and that takes time.”
FCB Montreal created the Just Watch Me campaign. Neo@Ogilvy handles digital media for Weight Watchers and MediaCom handles planning and buying for conventional media.
