MeUndies Enters the 'Underworld' With Playful New Campaign

MeUndies, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand that disrupted the intimate apparel sector, doesn’t want underwear to be basic. The Los Angeles-based company has unveiled a new campaign that marks the next chapter for the 13-year-old business, which recently expanded onto ecommerce site Shopify. “Welcome to the Underworld,” created by brand studio Unentitled, which opened this year, has a somewhat intimate aim “to redefine the role that underwear plays in people’s lives,” according to Ariel Stoddard, chief revenue officer of MeUndies. “[The campaign] infuses intentionality in what is a daily ritual [of choosing underwear],” Stoddard told ADWEEK. “We want to invite you into the underworld, a private playground where you can think, ‘how am I feeling and what is my underwear today?’” The ads will run across the brand’s digital platforms, organic and paid social, display, podcasts, direct mail, and out-of-home sites initially launching in Los Angeles, with additional markets and films to follow at a later date. The theme of the campaign is playfulness. Imagery contrasts people’s different personality traits and forms of self-expression, partly facilitated by their choice of underwear. MeUndies wants to help people get more intentional and playful with their underwear choices MeUndies zeroed in on the theme to widen its appeal and differentiate the brand in a crowded sector. “Play can mean so many different things to so many different people,” Stoddard said. “A lot of competitor brands have taken on one part of play, like sexiness or confidence, but we are truly a brand for everyone.” The campaign is about “giving people permission to try on different versions of themselves however they’re feeling, and encouraging them to mix it up,” said Unentitled co-founder and chief creative officer Andrew Teague, who previously worked at MeUndies as creative director between 2015 and 2017. “Instead of the idea of asking what the world wants from you, it’s about making you feel comfortable internally,” he continued. A disruptive journey When MeUndies started in 2011, “there weren’t a lot of premium products out there or a lot of brands that spoke to me – just large, legacy brands like Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret,” founder and CEO Jonathan Shokrian told ADWEEK. As one of the brands that pioneered the DTC model in the early 2010s, MeUndies cultivated a more “personal relationship” with customers, while developing a premium product and “delivering it in a fun and unique way,” Shokrian said. MeUndies doubles down on its playful, provocative personality In its early days, MeUndies employed “shock and awe advertising to get people’s attention,” Shokrian recalled. For example, in 2014 it ran ads of stick figures modeling its underwear to get around Facebook ad guidelines, and advertised on emerging channels like podcasts. MeUndies also stood apart in the intimate apparel space for being “more casual and approachable” and “pushing up against body image stereotypes by showing people in a more natural way,” Teague observed. Now that kind of inclusivity and body positivity is “table stakes” for brands, Teague added, which means MeUndies has to explore, “what does making people feel good in their own skin look like today?” MeUndies is also operating in a more crowded landscape, competing with other DTC companies as well as celebrity-founded brands like Kim Kardashian’s Skims. “Welcome to the Underworld” is a return to the brand’s bold, playful spirit. The goal is to make it a long-term platform and possibly expand into other areas of marketing, like experiential. MeUndies’ leaders think the underworld concept has legs, especially as the brand expands on Shopify and plans to launch new categories, Stoddard said. While the company started as primarily a men’s business, it has evolved into products for all genders and even pet accessories. “We’re trying to create a family brand,” Shokrian said. “We’re now doubling down on what made us disruptive and creating a platform for customers to have even more fun celebrating their individuality. If we can give you that extra bit of confidence in the morning, we’ve done our job.”

Advertising Week

MeUndies Enters the 'Underworld' In New Brand Chapter

The DTC brand unveils playful campaign after expanding onto Shopify

Brittaney Kiefer

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Brittaney Kiefer