This morning, sources say that Weight Watchers, which made news last April by leaving McCann New York for Wieden+Kennedy after seven years with the former agency, will run its first-ever Super Bowl ad during this year’s game on February 1st.
The decision to advertise during the Big Game marks the latest step in Weight Watchers’ marketing shift, which includes the new logo seen above. The client’s first Wieden+Kennedy campaign debuted in November, eschewing previous celebrity-heavy messaging tactics in favor of an emotional appeal to its members and their very human desire to “have a snack.”
At the time, the company’s president told The New York Times that the decision to part ways with spokesperson Jessica Simpson reflected its efforts “both to distinguish itself from competitors and to better reflect the challenge of weight loss.”
Given the fact that Weight Watchers spends approximately $150M on measured media each year and that the NFL’s fastest-growing demographic is young women, the Super Bowl XLIX news does not come as a complete surprise — but this year will mark first time in the company’s 50+ year history that it has paid the total (currently more than $4M) required to score a spot during the game.
In addition to Weight Watchers, W+K will run ads for TurboTax, Squarespace, and (possibly) Coca-Cola during Super Bowl XLIX.
UPDATE: Weight Watchers will indeed run its first ad during the game — but the company has decided not to release any teasers in the meantime, so you won’t see it until it airs live.