Image: Women’s Health UK / Ian Harrison’

Following the success of ‘Project Body Love’ in 2019, leading Hearst UK brands commit to second campaign to help women’s body confidence during the Covid-19 era.  

The campaign – which aims to change the way women think, feel and speak about their bodies – will be amplified in Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and Red, and follows the successful ‘Project Body Love’ from 2019, which bolstered female body confidence by an impressive 37%. 

Supported by Philips and using a range of print, digital, social media and podcast platforms, the second phase of Project Body Love will incorporate a host of positive editorial and initiatives to boost body confidence, following new research that shows only 10% of women have felt more confident about their bodies in lockdown.

The research, involving more than 1,600 women, also shows ‘looking at their body in the mirror’ (48% of respondents) and seeing themselves on video calls (41% of respondents) have acted as the most common negative drivers for body confidence during the pandemic. The ‘Power of Positivity’ campaign is backed by a major editorial project that will provide expert advice, tips and guidance for women to help how they think about their bodies.

On the flip side, during the lockdown period, exercising was cited as the biggest driver of improving body confidence, with 51% of women using it as a positivity beacon, whilst ‘compliments from others’ was the second most common morale booster (36% of respondents).

Claire Sanderson, editor-in-chief of Women’s Health – the media title headlining the campaign – said: “The first Project Body Love campaign last year was a major success and we learnt many things – particularly the power that positivity has on how women view their bodies. For our second phase, we’re delighted to have the support of Philips – a brand committed to promoting positivity and diversity in beauty – to help us in improving the way women think, feel and speak about their bodies, especially with the challenges that Covid-19 has enforced upon us.” 

Jess Gregory, Philips Lumea Manager, said: “We are incredibly excited to be partnering with Hearst UK on the second phase of Project Body Love. At Philips we celebrate and embrace the diversity of women and their personal beauty routines. We want to encourage women to do what feels right for them, and inspire others to do the same by creating an open, honest and safe environment for these conversations to take place.”

The Philips / Hearst UK partnership and campaign were facilitated and planned by dentsu agencies, The Story Lab and Carat UK.

The ‘Power of Positivity’ campaign will run until the Spring of 2021. To find out more information, please go to https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/project-body-love/.