H&M launches new brand H&M Move with Jane Fonda and JaQuel Knight

The inclusive fitness brand draws on Fonda’s days as a fitness guru to encourage everyone to get moving in H&M’s new gear

Creative Studio GentleForces has devised the ad campaign which aims to offer up the notion that sport and fitness is simply ‘movement’ and therefore accessible to all.

The campaign launches H&M Move, a new collection that is designed for ‘movers’ of all abilities and skills. As well as creating the ad campaign, GentleForces worked with H&M in putting together the new global brand from scratch – including the vision and brand strategy, as well as the brand name, tagline (‘However You Move’), identity, and key assets including a logo that is inspired from movement.

The inclusion of Fonda (who is in her 80s) in the campaign is an inspired move, especially for those either around in the 1980s or inspired by the decade, when Fonda’s VHS aerobics video became a cultural phenomenon. At that time Fonda was known for her bright leotards and leg warmers though her look for H&M is a touch more subtle. She appears in the ad alongside acclaimed choreographer JaQuel Knight, with the duo intercut by more traditional sporty imagery.

H&M Move is the latest brand to recognise that the way to inspire people to get into sport isn’t necessarily via a competitive approach. This new brand follows the ground-breaking work done by the This Girl Can campaign from Sport England, and also recent work from Nike, which has put more emphasis on play and having fun rather than winning at all costs.

GentleForces worked with director Loren Denis at Rattling Stick to create the H&M ad with the accompanying photography shot by Ronan Gallagher at Artistry London. The campaign launches worldwide across film, OOH, social, in-store and online.

“You don’t often get a chance to build a brand from scratch and put it out into the world. But this is more than just the creation of a new brand, it’s a cultural shift in how we define movement and its accessibility globally,” says Danni Mohammed, founder at GentleForces.

gentleforces.com