• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
RetailLululemon Athletica

Lululemon Turns To Vice Media For Big Ad Push

By
John Kell
John Kell
Contributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
John Kell
John Kell
Contributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 15, 2017, 6:00 AM ET

For nearly 20 years, the name Lululemon Athletica has been synonymous with the exploding popularity of yoga. But a new ad campaign is aiming to prove to shoppers that the apparel maker’s gear isn’t just for the mat.

On Monday, Lululemon (LULU) will officially unveil a new ad campaign it is calling “This Is Yoga,” which features some introductory principles of yoga but just as importantly, off-the-mat activities like volleyball and surfing. To get the ad’s messaging right, Lululemon turned to Vice Media’s recently formed global ad agency Virtue Worldwide, which aims to help brands like Lululemon produce content that’s aimed at younger consumers.

“They do ‘real’ better than everyone else,” said Duke Stump, Lululemon’s vice president of brand and community, in an interview with Fortune. “For many people, this campaign will lead them to think differently about our brand. And for people who have been loyal customers, it will be an affirmation for why they have such a strong affinity for the brand.”

The campaign, which launches on May 15 and runs through July, will include a mix of spending on social and digital channels, as well as billboards, in-store merchandising, and some over-the-top video ads on platforms like Sling TV. It will feature star athletes like Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings and surfer Maddie Peterson (both brand ambassadors), as well as Mexican ballroom dancers and even a DJ. The ad spending will be overemphasized on six core cities: Los Angeles, New York City, Toronto, Vancouver, London, and Shanghai.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZYAo2xI5A&feature=youtu.be

The campaign represents another big global campaign for Vice’s Virtue, which has already worked with several of Unilever’s (UL) brands including Dove personal-care products and Breyers ice cream.

It also comes at an important time for Lululemon. In-store traffic has softened in recent quarters, along with broader weakness for most brick-and-mortar retailers as spending migrates online, so the brand could use a boost. There’s also heightened competition in the athletic category. And perhaps most critically: Lululemon is aiming to shake off a stock market slump after it reported disappointing financial targets for the new fiscal year, mostly blaming a soft performance for the company’s e-commerce channel because it didn’t feature enough bold colors.

Back in late March, CEO Laurent Potdevin told investors that the company was planning a big ad campaign for this year so it could extend its reach beyond marketing that mainly focused on community driven events and local marketing. Lululemon also runs ad content on social channels like YouTube, but it says the partnership with Virtue is a way to amp up the messaging.

“When you think about 2017 really being a year of putting more eyeballs on the brand and guest acquisition, I’m actually really excited about our ability in a really relevant, nimble way to put millions of eyeballs on the brand,” Potdevin said at the time. He added the campaign is an important component of brand building that will help Lululemon achieve the lofty target of doubling annual revenue to $4 billion by 2020.

For Lululemon to grow—especially in a competitive market where it must fend for sales against Nike (NKE), Under Armour (UAA), Gap’s Athleta—it can’t just sell gear to yoga loyalists. Executives know that and have sought to change the company’s messaging to be broader. When it filed for an initial public offering in 2007, Lululemon called itself a “yoga-inspired apparel” maker. But in recent years, it says gear is for yoga, running, training and an overall “healthy lifestyle.” And of course, Lululemon also benefits from the broader “athleisure” fashion trend it helped popularize: wearing athletic-style gear for everyday attire.

Heightened competition in the athletic-wear category—as well as some broad category sales softness—has led all the major players to boost ad spending to lure shoppers. Lululemon’s selling, general administrative expenses (which includes ad spending) jumped to 33.2% as a percentage of net revenue from 30.5% the prior year. That metric is now higher than Nike (32.2% in the most recent year), but is under what Under Armour spent in 2016 (37.8%).

About the Author
By John KellContributing Writer and author of CIO Intelligence

John Kell is a contributing writer for Fortune and author of Fortune’s CIO Intelligence newsletter.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Retail

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Retail

target
Retailearnings
Target posts biggest jump in comparable sales in 4 years as turnaround takes shape
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
Variational co-founders Edward Yu and Lucas Schuermann pose for a picture
CryptoCryptocurrency
Variational raises $50 million Series A to bring liquidity from traditional markets to blockchain rails
By Jack KubinecMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
A Pizza Hut workers prepares an order for delivery.
LawFood and drink
Pizza Hut franchisee claims $100 million losses from ‘cascading operational breakdowns’ in AI adoption gone wrong
By Sasha RogelbergMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Photo of Donald Trump (left) with Mark Cuban
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump and Mark Cuban end war of words to tag-team America’s drug pricing crisis: ‘Democrats want cheaper medications, too’
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
Big TechLawsuit
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
andic
LawBillionaires
Spanish police arrest son of retail billionaire who fell off a cliff and died. He was the only witness
By The Associated PressMay 19, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
21 hours ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
A 'proudly autistic' workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
Conferences
A 'proudly autistic' workplace expert says putting neurodivergent employees in a typical office is like dropping a polar bear in Austin, Texas
By Tristan BoveMay 20, 2026
21 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.