Cotton On Body is taking a fresh approach to wellness marketing, launching a TikTok-first campaign designed to tackle body image pressures by leaning directly into the platform often accused of fuelling them.
Head of Marketing Leah Chesney told Mediaweek the move reflects a broader shift in retail, where brands must deliver more than just products if they want to earn loyalty from younger audiences.
“It’s about taking the brand beyond just products,” Chesney said.
“Consumers are really tightening up their spending, especially this younger audience. Our key consumer is someone who hasn’t got dollars to stretch anywhere like she did. She’s living at home with her parents and making that dollar stretch as much as she can.
“So, you know, we know that sales are a consistent way that brands are driving trade. But if we can sort of engage with her beyond product and build that brand love, then that is what’s going to be key. If she loves the brand, and she believes in what we stand for, then that’s not only the key in the short term, but also the long term as well,” Chesney explained.
Kairo Calvitto
Social-first by design
The Body Wellness Club campaign is built around a TikTok series featuring Anthony Voulgaris, who plays the role of a wellness concierge dishing out no-nonsense advice such as cancelling pilates without guilt or learning to say no to friends.
Creators Silk Cartwright, Kairo Calvitto and Emma MacDonald also feature, each embodying different “wellness personas” that reflect the realities of everyday 18–24-year-olds.
“We launched our Body Wellness Club earlier in the year and our Body Wellness Club is all about connection and community and a way to extend Cotton On Body from being just about product but also about bringing, you know, this crew together,” said Chesney.
“And this crew is specifically targeting an 18 to 24 year old audience, and lends itself to TikTok perfectly.”
The campaign also coincided with the launch of Cotton On Body’s standalone TikTok channel. Talk about the stars aliging.
Tackling body image on its own turf
Rather than sidestepping the criticism that social media drives unrealistic body standards, Chesney said the brand wanted to meet the issue head on.
“Wellness and body image is such a hypersensitive topic of conversation these days, but it’s a vital one to have, especially for a brand such as us that really grounds ourself in wellness,” she said.
“We’re not going to dictate to you as a brand what wellness looks like. The campaign is about ‘her’ and being able to use these different personalities and their wellness personas to ensure there is someone a young girl can relate to.”