Asics Enlists White Lotus' Natasha Rothwell

You don't need a wellness retreat to boost your mood

Actress Natasha Rothwell, aka spa manager Belinda from The White Lotus, fronts this Asics campaign timed to World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10.

Wellness retreats are all the rage, with White Lotus itself helping drive that trend. But Rothwell says that while they’re great if you can swing it, movement breaks for 15 minutes can boost your mood … and they’re free! And no need to spend big bucks on drinks that taste like grass or work out with a goat on your back.

“When you move your body, you move your mind,” Rothwell says.

“Everyday Escape” from Golin London is a calmer, more zen take than Asics’ campaign last year, which starred Brian Cox and an office desk that’s killing you.

An Everyday Escape trial discovered that movement for 15 minutes delivered a 21 percent greater uplift in mental wellbeing than a wellness vacation.

“We’re always looking at how ASICS can break sports brand norms and play in unexpected new places where conversations are happening around mental health,” says Al Wood, CCO at Golin. With hype growing around exotic distant wellness retreats, playing with the concept of ‘escape’ felt interesting – especially with new proof that everyday exercise is a more powerful, and accessible, one for your mind.”

“From there, we needed a spokesperson of this world,” continues Elliot Riordan, senior creative director at Golin. “Someone who embodies luxury wellness instantly and who better than Natasha Rothwell? This world is all a bit extreme and silly and we’re all secretly obsessed and want more of it. So, our idea was simple: sell people the glossy escape they’re used to seeing, then flip it on its head with the reveal that the real escape is just 15 minutes of movement—not yoga goats, whispering horses or paying lots of money for blended grass.”