In Mike White’s hit anthology series, The White Lotus, rich people travel to beautiful, fancy resorts, only to spend most of their time miserable and sometimes getting murdered.
Sportswear brand Asics and agency Golin London tapped The White Lotus star Natasha Rothwell to spoof the HBO show and wellness culture, encouraging consumers to avoid murderous resorts and just get moving close to home.
Rothwell, who plays the spa manager of The White Lotus Hawaii in the show’s first and third seasons, teased the campaign in an Oct. 3 Instagram post showing her welcoming people to a beautiful oceanside escape, while a riff on the show’s iconic theme tune plays.
In the full ad, released on Monday, she mocks stereotypical amenities of a wellness retreat, including green juice, seaweed wraps, and goat yoga. Instead, she argues for an “everyday escape,” celebrating the physical and mental health benefits of taking a daily 15-minute movement break.
The film, shot by Matthew Frost through Iconoclast, is running across digital and paid social to tie into the buzz surrounding The White Lotus’ upcoming season 4, which will be filmed in France next year.
“Exercise takes anyone to a happier place in just 15 minutes – whereas expensive and distant wellness escapes aren’t proven to do anything except lighten one’s bank balance,” Golin chief creative officer Al Wood said in a statement. “Hijacking the growing hype about the new season to make this point was too good an opportunity to miss.”
The White Lotus Star Natasha Rothwell Calls Out Wellness Culture in Asics Ad
