S&S takes Weight Watchers UK on a new path

It’s tough being a weight loss club. You have to make yourself heard over the siren call of so many “magic” pills, diets and equipment.

And the idea of using celebrity ambassadors had one critical flaw – they’re fallible human beings just like everyone else.

Wieden + Kennedy took Weight Watchers US down a new road at the end of November last year.

One month later, timed neatly to coincide with pig out season and its aftermath New Year’s resolution week, Saatchi & Saatchi London launched Weight Watchers UK down another.

On Saatchi & Saatchi’s road, Weight Watchers is “there to help” people juggling extra busy lives that make it hard to manage what gets eat and drunk. The campaign emphasises WW”s specialised programs (“one for every lifestyle and/or dietary need”).

So, of course, the three executions have an upbeat, you can do it, tone and manner. Saatchi & Saatchi has added an appealingly quirky visual style that brings the brand (and its genre) up to date. And makes a reasonable message so much more appealing.

There are three 30 and three 20 second executions, the TV spots are designed to show the weight loss service “Here To Help”. With a fresh new look and feel, the brand is being refreshed across all channels and will be supported by a fully integrated marketing campaign.

Grand Central’s Ben Leeves created the sound design for the three 30 and three 20 second executions.

“The brief was to create something different and have a bit of fun with the perennial New Year weight-watching theme,” he explained.

“Through the sound design, I’ve tried to dramatise the feeling of a really hectic lifestyle – to demonstrate that people are often juggling a lot more than just their diet. The sounds I created are very big and punchy, to work with the fast-changing visuals…everything from pasta hitting metal and magazines being thrown to paper being flipped.

“Getting the music right was key. We’ve taken a lovely classical piano track that bounced along and reflected the unsettling atmosphere leading up to the point of calm, right at the end.”