• by Les Luchter , January 11, 2023

 

A couple of years back, Jennifer Aniston became the faceof Vital Proteins, a collagen peptides supplement that had recently been bought by Nestle’s. Named the brand’s chief creative officer, Aniston starred in a 72andSunny campaign titled “It’s Within Us.”

Now, the 10-year-old company has replaced 72andSunny with Mythology -- and is using a diverse group of non-celebrities rather than Aniston to star in its new “For Everybody with a Body” campaign.

Vital Proteins assures Marketing Daily that long-time user Aniston is still the brand’s chief creative officer and, as such, “continues to bring brand awareness” and to incorporate the brand into her daily wellness routine.

She also has her own product line, Vital Proteins & Jennifer Aniston Collagen and Protein bars, and in December staged a Vital Proteins takeover of the craft service table on the set of her Apple TV+ series, “The Morning Show.”

Meanwhile, in the new campaign’s key :30 spot, not only are the characters diverse, but also the collagen benefits being touted. “Yes, they help your hair and skin and nails look nice,” says a narrator, “but they also support the healthy bones and joints that let you do things with your body.”

The spot then highlights humorous shots of people doing such things as skiing, cartwheeling, throwing darts and, finally, “filming yourself stretching” and “filming someone filming themselves stretching, in a commercial for Collagen.”

The campaign is running through March on streaming video, linear video and online video; on Pandora streaming audio and podcasts; and on social platforms including Pinterest, Instagram, and Reddit. Media agency is Open Mind.

Marketing Daily spoke with Jill Abbott, who recently joined Vital Proteins from PepsiCo as chief marketing officer, about the new campaign and the company’s marketing direction:

Marketing Daily:  How different is “Everybody with a Body” from previous Vital Proteins campaigns? 

Jill Abbott: We really wanted to feature people from all different backgrounds and in all different sizes, shapes, and personalities.

As we continue to evolve the Vital Proteins brand, you’ll see this much more in our marketing initiatives. Through launching an inclusive campaign, we’re expanding our relevance and messaging to reach a more diverse audience.

The tone is also a shift for us—we want to use sharp wit to grab consumers’ attention and reinforce that collagen is a wellness essential. 

Marketing Daily: Can you expand on your vision for the brand?

Abbott: This is my first major campaign with Vital Proteins – I see it asan opportunity to shift the direction of the brand from aspirational to inspirational. Today, we’re focused on making Vital Proteins and collagen a wellness essential, which is where our new campaign comes in.

The “For Everybody with a Body” message is helping to build off that strong base, but it expands our relevance so we can make a greater impact with wellness-centric people.  

Marketing Daily: Do you have a specific target audience? 

Abbott: From the early days of Vital Proteins, millennial women have been loyal fans of the brand. However, we know that starting at the age of 30, we lose collagen at a rate of up to 1% per year. A very broad audience can benefit from collagen supplementation.

So, we’ve expanded our audience to include a broader demographic of age and gender.

Marketing Daily: Did you bring Mythology on board? 

Abbott: I have been a fan of Mythology’s work for years. However, it was the executive creative director I brought in, Josh Leutz, that suggested Mythology would be the right partner for this project…One of the reasons we chose to work with them is they have a deep understanding of the wellness space and how to break through the noise. They also weren’t afraid of taking risks and being bold with the creative – challenging consumers’ preconceptions around collagen. 

Marketing Daily: How will you measure the new campaign’s success? 

Abbott: We’ll be successful if we can help more people understand what collagen can do for them. Wewant to educate consumersabout the science-based benefits of collagen, but in a fun and relatable way.