To promote its newest shoes, the Swiss athletic apparel brand On filmed a fictional movie trailer with Zendaya. Zone Dreamers stars the actress as an elf-eared astronaut who wears athleisure, trains in space with her flight crew, and—On hopes—sells some merchandise.
It’s all an elaborate ad campaign for On’s new low-profile sneaker, Cloudzone, its one-piece Studio Knit Bodysuit, and other offerings from the company’s Spring/Summer 2025 Movement Lifestyle collection, which Zendaya wears throughout. (Consumers hoping to get their hands on the futuristic space suit Zendaya sports in one scene will be disappointed to learn that it’s not part of the collection. Celebrity stylist Law Roach, who styled the shoot, commissioned the white-and-clear suit from creative studio Chrishabana. “Some of my best work!!!” Roach wrote on Instagram.)
It’s also a high-production way to sell workout apparel in a market that’s more competitive than ever. Global athleisure sales are expected to grow by more than $173 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to data from Technavio, a market research firm, and lifestyle, yoga, and women’s athleisure are expected to be major drivers. Challengers like On and Lululemon have cut into the market share of legacy brands like Nike since the pandemic, and today apparel companies are jockeying for many of the same consumers.
On’s campaign suggests that having a celebrity spokesperson isn’t enough in a product category this competitive. The truth is that celebrity brand ambassadors are everywhere. Athleta and Lululemon have partnered with athletes like Simone Biles and DK Metcalf for years, Fila recently tapped model-influencer Hailey Bieber to promote a tennis-inspired athleisure line, and Nike just teamed up with Kim Kardashian’s Skims for a first-of-its-kind collaboration due out later this year. Skims is also a leader in advertising innovation, often engaging external collaborators who bring artistic vision to tentpole campaigns.
On is leaning into that approach. Visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen, whose work has been featured in Interview magazine and the Dolce & Gabanna X Skims campaign, directed the spot. The resulting work allows On to “push the limits of creative storytelling,” as Alex Griffin, the company’s chief marketing officer, put it in a statement. With elevated production and an unconventional concept, Zone Dreamers sets itself apart from traditional fashion photo shoots—and that’s the point.
The rise of hi-fi marketing campaigns, from the likes of Skims and now On—featuring magazine-style editorial execution and big-name creative talent both in front of and behind the camera—points to how well-suited narrative storytelling is for today’s biggest distribution channels: social media feeds. They’re attention-grabbing, create conversations, and can draw out launch-related buzz over multiple posts and days in a way that echoes box-office-style marketing for movies.
Zendaya’s leading role in the new Zone Dreamers video shows there’s room to take high-production marketing concepts to the movies, outer space, and beyond.