Dive Brief:
- Hanes' Playtex has launched a #PlaytexPositivity campaign on social media channels including Facebook and Instagram to promote its Love My Curves products, a line that includes bras up to 40G and a panty collection that goes to size 3XL, according to a press release. Playtex said it plans to expand the effort to more channels next year.
- #PlaytexPositivity is part of the brand’s support of spreading positivity through words or actions and came from research that found 78% of women are more likely to share positivity with other women when they feel good about themselves.
- To help promote the effort, Playtex is leveraging influencers including Ashley Zeal of Two Peas in a Prada, Nicole Edelen of Curves on a Budget and Crystal Coons of Sometimes Glam. Marketing-to-women consultancy Frank About Women helped design the campaign, surveying 500 women aged 23 and older.
Dive Insight:
The #PlaytexPositivity rollout aims to tap into consumers' growing desire to see diversity, authenticity and transparency in their marketing. A heavy focus on social influencers should help the brand achieve these goals, as women like Zeal, Edelen and Coons have dedicated followings online that turn to them for advice on which products to try and buy.
A focus on celebrating women of all shapes and sizes follows similar efforts from brands like P&G's Dove, whose "Real Beauty" brand platform has helped lead the charge of body-positivity in marketing. However, these efforts don't always accomplish their intended goals, pointing to the fine line brands have to walk in developing strategies around socially-conscious messaging.
A packaging play for Dove body wash from earlier this year was widely derided for making unflattering comparisons to women's bodies — a rare misstep from a brand that's otherwise been well-attuned to the issue. Playtex might see more success by focusing on the actual women leading the body-positivity conversation online and on social media.
