Watch Naomi Osaka star in new Bobbie baby formula campaign

Direct-to-consumer formula brand Bobbie is featuring tennis champion Naomi Osaka in “Parents Push Harder,” its first major TV campaign, airing Sunday on ESPN during the Australian Open, which marks the star’s return to the sport following the birth of her six-month-old daughter Shai. It’s the first time ESPN has ever run an infant formula ad, Kim Chappell, chief brand officer at Bobbie said in a recent interview. The ad buy comes as Bobbie has begun limiting sales. “They’ll say it’s a comeback,” Osaka narrates in the 30-second ad as videos of her practicing tennis and training play. “They’ll ask, what pushes me?” she continues as photos of herself while pregnant flash across the screen, and social media comments about her pregnancy including “what OB doctor would clear her to return to such intense physical activity so soon?” pop up around her head. “You know what pushes me?” she asks at the end of the ad as videos of her tennis matches play before walking into a nursery and picking up a baby before saying, “you,” as she looks at the baby. “Parents, we push harder,” the four-time Grand Slam champion says at the end as those words appear on the screen. As if coming back to work after having a baby isn’t already stressful enough “imagine having the world watch you and decide if having a baby was good or bad for your career?” Chappell said in reference to Osaka’s upcoming return to the sport. “We wanted to make sure that we lean into the fact that you can come back and you can be great, and you can be supported by brands in your motherhood journey as well.” Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here Bobbie is Osaka’s latest endorsement deal. She was also the star of a Sweetgreen marketing blitz in 2021. The fast-casual salad restaurant stood by Osaka when she pulled out of the French Open soon after, citing mental health concerns. For Bobbie, founded in 2018, the 30-second spot is the brand’s first linear TV ad, Chappell said in an email. It will run on both linear TV (ESPN and ESPN2) and streaming TV, as well as in print in The New York Times, and in paid and organic social media posts. On Tuesday, Modern Retail reported that Bobbie is temporarily limiting its formula sales due to unprecedented demand. A Bobbie spokesperson said in an email that its campaign is not about selling formula, but rather focusing on “showing up for all parents in the U.S. and advocating for paid leave.” More sports news: Behind ESPN’s giant football championship ring The baby in the TV ad is not Osaka’s—Bobbie had four customer babies star in the spot instead, and Chappell said the families were compensated with $500 digital gift cards. Osaka is also teaming up with Bobbie to give away 50 $580 grants to new parents, which will be promoted in other campaign materials, Chappell said. The grants are meant to show that Bobbie and Osaka are advocating for the passage of the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which Chappell said “would address America’s paid family and medical leave crisis” by providing workers with “12 weeks of partial income for childbirth and recovery, birth or adoption of a child, or to help care for a sick family member. It would allow low-income workers their full wage and high-income workers two-thirds their wage.” The current Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), provides eligible U.S. employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year, she added. The $580 amount was chosen because, as Chappell noted, “if the FAMILY Act passes, it will give a bare minimum of $580 per month to families here in the U.S. as part of paid leave.” Recent news: US ad employment ended 2023 at an all-time high “With this being an election year, we have an opportunity to hold Congressional candidates accountable this year for their stance on Paid Leave. We can vote in allies and make this an election issue to get this through Congress,” she added. Chappell declined to share how much Bobbie spent on the campaign but confirmed it will take up the lion’s share of Bobbie’s 2024 marketing budget. The ad was written and created internally, with the agency Full Picture assisting with production. “They have traditionally been our brand agency of choice, but our own in-house videographer directed this,” Chappell said. The team felt like it had the expertise to create the ad in-house, she added. “Our marketing team is all women. Most of them are mothers, or pregnant—I have three people on my team that are pregnant—and we realized that this was a story that we knew. We know, in our hearts, we have lived this experience,” Chappell said. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here

Watch Naomi Osaka star in new Bobbie baby formula campaign

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