Be Every You with Zendaya. - Ad Analysis
AI Editor notes
Straight from the gut!!
“This is a beautiful, expensive-looking film. It does its job of making On feel premium and culturally relevant. But let's be honest, it feels generic. You could swap the On logo for a Nike swoosh or an Adidas three-stripe at the end and it wouldn't feel out of place. They paid for a global icon in Zendaya, but the core idea—'be your multifaceted self'—is well-trodden territory in this category. [15] It's a solid, safe play to buy relevance, but not a creatively distinctive one.”
Quick Summary
On is leveraging a multi-year partnership with Zendaya to transition from a niche performance footwear company into a global sportswear and lifestyle authority. [2, 5] This campaign uses her cultural influence to introduce co-created products and build brand cachet, positioning On as a direct challenger to giants like Nike and Adidas by adopting their playbook of celebrity-led, aspirational storytelling. [10, 15]
Executive Summary
On’s “Be Every You” campaign is a calculated and aesthetically polished move to accelerate its evolution from a performance-running specialist into a full-fledged global sportswear giant. By partnering with Zendaya, one of the most credible and influential figures for a young, style-conscious audience, On is making a direct play for the cultural territory long dominated by Nike and Adidas. [15] The campaign is less about selling a specific product feature and more about selling an identity—a modern, fluid, and self-determined one that rejects labels.
The Core Insight here is that people, particularly younger consumers, feel pressure to present a single, curated version of themselves to the world, while their internal reality is far more complex and contradictory. The ad taps into the desire for permission to embrace this multiplicity. The message “Be Every You” is a direct response to this tension, offering On not just as apparel, but as an enabler of self-expression in all its forms.
The execution, directed by Bardia Zeinali, uses a clear Setup-Turn-Payoff structure within its 30-second runtime. [3] The Setup establishes the problem: Zendaya’s voiceover lists societal pressures (“Too loud, too quiet, too much, not enough”) while the visuals show her in constrained, almost pensive states in surreal, high-contrast environments. This creates a sense of external judgment. The Turn is the quiet question, “But do we really have to?” This pivot shifts the film’s energy. The music swells and Zendaya’s movements become more fluid and expressive, breaking free from the earlier tension. The Payoff delivers the brand’s answer: “Soft, strong, everything in between. I’m all of it.” This culminates in the twin taglines, “Dream On” and “Be Every You,” explicitly linking the feeling of liberation with the On brand. The visual language is that of luxury fashion—abstract, beautiful, and reliant on mood over literal narrative. This is a deliberate choice to elevate the brand beyond the grit of pure sport into the realm of high-style athleisure.
The Debrief for the brand team would be positive on a strategic level. They have successfully executed a top-tier celebrity partnership that generated significant buzz and positioned the brand in a new competitive set. [3, 5] However, the creative, while flawless in its execution, leans heavily on established category tropes. [15] The victory is in securing Zendaya and launching her co-created collection; the creative itself is supporting evidence rather than the main event. The key lesson is that while buying cultural relevance is a valid and effective strategy, the next step must be to define what makes an On brand film uniquely ‘On,’ beyond just the logo at the end.
Theme Keywords
Brand Position
Premium, design-led sportswear that fuels the spirit of movement and self-discovery.
Brand Archetype
The Explorer
Creative Game Plan
Use Zendaya's credibility to anchor the brand's pivot to lifestyle, framing On's apparel as the uniform for self-expression.
Diagnosis: Issues & Solutions
Primary Issue: Strategic Sense
The Problem:
The campaign is so effective at adopting the visual and narrative language of a market leader like Nike that it fails to carve out a distinct identity for On. It's a 'me-too' strategy executed at a high level, which builds short-term relevance but risks long-term brand recall.
The Solution:
Future campaigns should identify a visual or narrative signature that is uniquely 'On'. Whether it's leaning into its Swiss design heritage, the specific feeling of its CloudTec sole, or a different emotional territory, the brand needs an ownable creative element.
Secondary Issue: Emotional Connection
The Problem:
The ad's aesthetic is beautiful but emotionally distant. The surreal, high-fashion settings make the concept of 'being you' feel like an abstract performance rather than a relatable human experience. It's aspirational to the point of being slightly unrelatable.
The Solution:
Ground the next iteration of this campaign in more recognizable moments. Show how the gear facilitates being 'every you' in the context of a real day—moving from a moment of quiet focus to a burst of energy or a social connection.