• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 29, 2022

A new campaign from Weight Watchers focuses on a time-honored post-holiday tradition: the gift-return counter. But instead of unloading ugly sweaters, these returns offer a fun twist on positivity, letting people return all the negative self-talk about their weight that they've been schlepping around for years.

The cheerful counter helps people hoping to return "gifts" they don't want anymore–holiday guilt, for example, or their love/hate relationship with cookies.

Themed "Return to feeling good," the ads are from Maximum Effort.

"The fresh spin aims to take a more positive approach to talking about weight loss, emphasizing the importance of treating yourself with kindness and showing how it's possible to enjoy what you love and lose weight without restriction," Weight Watchers tells Marketing Daily in an email.

The new campaign comes as the company continues its turnaround efforts, facing challenges on several fronts -- including competition from tech-driven companies like Noom.

In its most recent quarterly results, Weight Watchers International posted an operating loss of $254.5 million, compared to an operating income of $79.7 million in the third quarter of 2021. Net revenues dropped 14.9% to $249.7 million, compared to $293.5 million in the comparable period of 2021.

Weight Watchers is also losing customers, ending the quarter with 3.8 million subscribers, down 15% from 4.5 million a year ago, with losses most pronounced among digital subscribers.

The company says there are signs its transformation efforts are taking hold. "We are encouraged by early indicators that our data-informed approach to product development -- focused on our core pillars of community, accountability, and coaching -- is starting to yield positive results," says Sima Sistani, chief executive officer, in its announcement. "With nearly 60 years of weight loss efficacy and a community of millions, we have a strong foundation on which to build a digital experience for the future."