Activia Empowers Women, Inside and Out

Dannon Co.'s Activia brand launched a national rebranding campaign this month dubbed "It Starts Inside."

The timely campaign is based on the brand's understanding that women who otherwise are powerful and comfortable when overcoming obstacles are often their own harshest critics. A social video released this month called "Don't Tell Me I Can't" presents candid interviews with women who face this realization that self-doubt is often their biggest barrier (see video, above).

Inspiring women to achieve their goals by rising above their inner critic dovetails with Activia's new brand positioning. "We're marrying the benefits of our yogurt with a new rallying cry — 'It Starts Inside' — to offer a product and platform to help women feel good inside and out," said senior brand director Carolina Cespedes.

Launch of the "Don't Tell Me I Can't" video follows the recent debut of a national TV spot starring Sarah Thomas, a trailblazer who became the first full-time female official in the National Football League in 2015.

The rebranding effort also includes sponsorship of Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in the technology field. Activia will donate $250,000 to the cause.

It also entails refreshed product packaging created by design shop FutureBrand.  The refresh boasts updated coloring and a new logo touting the yogurt’s health benefits.

Additional elements of the campaign will continue to roll out throughout 2017.

Dannon Co. parent Danone ranks 17th on CGT's list of the Top 100 Consumer Goods Companies.