Summersalt taps 27 women for annual campaign targeting inclusivity

Dive Brief:

To appeal to consumers seeking inclusive brands, DTC swimwear company Summersalt launched its annual body positivity campaign this week, “Every Body is a Summersalt Body,” according to a company press release.
The campaign features 27 activists, entrepreneurs and other influencers aged 18 to 63 years old, including WNBA All-Star Betnijah Laney, best-selling novelist Candace Bushnell and Thirteen Lune co-founder Nyakio Grieco.
The company unveiled the campaign on Wednesday and will show it across connected TV, print, paid digital, catalog and social channels, per the announcement.

Dive Insight:

Summersalt's campaign, which emphasizes diversity and inclusivity, was shot by photographer and director Paola Kudacki and director of photography Tommy Agriodimas in New York and Los Angeles. It builds on previous years' iterations of the campaign and this year includes a series of "Love Letters to Your Body" highlighting stories from the women featured.

“This campaign embodies Summersalt’s mission in its entirety, and through this amazing group of accomplished women, we are striving to reach as many women as possible to inspire them to feel confident, proud, and accepting of their bodies,” Summersalt CEO and co-founder Lori Coulter said in a statement. “We are thrilled to champion strong women innovators leading the way in their respective careers.”

Since its founding in 2017, Summersalt has expanded its product assortment to include loungewear, knitwear, sleepwear, intimates and activewear, but it faces competition in its core product offering from veteran brands. In February last year, Victoria’s Secret reintroduced swimwear in stores from name brands and its private label. The company has also revamped its board to be majority women and has gotten rid of its "angels" in an attempt to revamp its public image.

Summersalt also faces stiff competition from DTC brands that have debuted swimwear collections recently. In May 2021, intimates brands MeUndies and Cuup entered the swimwear category. In March this year, activewear brand Fabletics entered the swim category right after enlisting Lizzo to create a shapewear collection. DTC swimwear brand Andie also worked to bolster its position in the space last year by tapping actress Demi Moore and her daughters to represent the brand in a campaign.