Ro and tennis legend Serena Williams are bringing the GLP-1 conversation to the Super Bowl.
Ro, a direct-to-consumer healthcare business that sells GLP-1 medications including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound, is making its Super Bowl debut with an ad starring its brand ambassador, Williams. The commercial will air nationally during NBC’s broadcast and kick off a new campaign, “Healthier on Ro,” spanning TV, paid social, and out-of-home takeovers in cities across the U.S.
The goal behind “Healthier on Ro” is to destigmatize the drug and promote its other health benefits beyond weight loss. It continues Ro’s partnership with Williams that began in August, with an ad in which the sports icon publicly shared that she uses a GLP-1 drug.
At the time, Ro enlisted Williams to “dispel the myth that taking weight loss medications is cheating,” said Saman Rahmanian, Ro’s co-founder and chief product officer. The company wanted to show that if even an elite athlete such as Williams benefited from GLP-1s, “it’s not a shortcut,” he added.
Williams’ husband, entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in Ro and serves on its board.
With its Super Bowl 60 ad, Ro is tackling another misconception: “that weight loss medications are only for vanity. We know that the value of GLP-1s is more than skin deep,” Rahmanian told ADWEEK.
In the spot, Williams shares the health benefits she’s experienced since taking GLP-1s, including losing 34 pounds in a year, reduced knee joint stress, steady blood sugar, and lowered cholesterol.
As in her first campaign with Ro, Williams is also shown literally using the product – injecting it with a pen, ordering it via a mobile app, and promoting the new pill version.
Developed by Ro’s internal creative team and production company Young Hero, the spot uses a bright color scheme and high-energy soundtrack – “Riot Rhythm” by Sleigh Bells – to “convey what it feels like to be on Ro,” Rahmanian said.
