Props to Weight Watchers for finally understanding how to tap into the realities of women and make weight loss feel achievable.
The new Weight Watchers commercial - which unfortunately I can't find a clip of – does a great job of helping women envision an achievable goal that most women can relate to.
The spot follows a woman in an office and the narration discusses the difficulties of balancing dieting and busy work schedules. We watch the woman run to catch an elevator when her skirt falls down around her ankles and she falls to the ground. The narrator follows the incident by saying something to the effect of… with Weight Watchers what you'll really need to worry about is finding time to buy new clothes.
If you’ve ever talked to a woman who is trying to lose weight she’ll talk about the little victories. The dress she can fit into again, buying clothes that highlight – not conceal – her waistline, or wearing a tank top and not worrying about arm flab. These moments of victory, while they seem small, are what women are able to envision and keep them motivated because they’re achievable. And for most women, tummy flub and arm flab are relatable. Not the super model walking around the pool in a bikini commercials or the "I lost 100 lbs and you can too!" commercials. For many of us, while we'd love to look like a super model - envisioning ourselves in that situation is more daunting than relatable and therefore triggers more anxiety than inspiration. And the majority of American women can't relate to those who have hundreds of pounds to lose (a la The Biggest Loser) so if we can't relate we can't be motivated.
During my quest to find the commercial online I stumbled across the Weight Watchers community board. And it appears as though I’m not the only one who was able to relate.
"That was good. I have clothes like that now (but I don't wear them). Yeah!!!"
"I love that commercial. It is SOOO TRUE. In fact I did a similar thing... was wearing the same clothes as always to work, then one day I realized my pants were literally falling off. Every time I bent over or got up from my desk I was having to hike them back up. Oh it felt so good!"
The commercial immediately resonated with me and made me think about those cute wool pants that I wasn't able to wear last winter because they were just a bit too tight. The thought of those pants hanging in the back of the closet again this winter motivated me to get off the couch and go for a run.