Weight Watchers Channels The Power Of Oprah In Its New Uplifting Commercial
Let it never be said that Oprah still isn't a pro at bringing on the feels.
As reported previously by Medical Daily, the self-made media conglomerate announced a partnership with Weight Watchers earlier this October. At the time of the announcement, which also saw Oprah purchase 10 percent of Weight Watchers' stock, she made it clear that she would personally campaign for the weight loss company as a spokesperson. Above is the first clear endeavor of that partnership.
In little less than a minute she takes viewers through an abbreviated journey of her struggles with losing weight, making no bones about what exactly it means to her. "Inside every overweight woman, is a woman she knows she can be," she opines at the beginning as clips of her working out play in the background. “Many times you look in the mirror and you don’t even recognize your own self. Because you’ve gotten lost, buried in the weight that you carry.”
Aside from the general applause the commercial has gotten from social media, where Oprah released it to her Twitter fans on Tuesday, it’s also boosted Weight Watchers’ flagging financial prospects. As per the BBC, Weight Watchers’ stock has jumped nearly 20 percent since the ad first aired stateside. That same Oprah bump was seen when she first announced her partnership with the company. At the time of the stock purchase, her 10 percent share was worth $43 million. Now it’s about $150 million, according to Fortune.
"Are you ready? Let’s do this together," Winfrey implored her viewers at the end of the ad, appropriately titled "Why I joined Weight Watchers."
While the message behind Oprah’s campaign may be both profitable and well-intentioned, it should accurately be noted that there’s little strong evidence showing the Weight Watchers system alone, or really that of any dieting program, can significantly reduce someone’s weight in the long term scheme of things.