Allergan Aesthetics has tapped actress and producer Malin Akerman for a double-dip body contouring campaign for its fat-freezing CoolSculpting and body-toning CoolTone brands.
The latest effort joins the post-lockdown aesthetics boom of marketing campaigns amid atypically high demand for treatments.
Akerman, 42, falls squarely in the middle of the 35-to-54-year-old demographic Allergan is targeting for the treatments. She's the first U.S. spokesperson for the brands since the AbbVie and Allergan merger closed in May.
CoolSculpting, FDA-approved to treat visible fat, and the CoolTone device, approved for firming and toning of lower body areas, are two separate products. And while they have not yet been evaluated by the FDA in combination, Akerman talks about her experience with both in the new campaign.
Akerman will be featured in digital media, online videos and social media. She's already done media and public relations to relate her personal experience with the treatments and encourage people to talk to their healthcare providers about the products.
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Akerman was chosen in part because she had already started investigating CoolSculpting for herself, Matt Williams, associate vice president of marketing for body contouring at Allergan Aesthetics, said via email.
During stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said many providers received inquiries about body contouring options.
"This partnership comes during a time when we know people are taking steps to safely get back to their routines,” he said.
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Allergan has used a variety of celebrity spokespeople, both male and female, to market the CoolSculpting procedure in the past.
“We look to partner with celebrities whose CoolSculpting stories we feel will resonate with our target market," Williams said.
Previous spokespeople have included “Sex and the City” actress Kristin Davis, Olympic ice skater Johnny Weir, golf pro Ian Poulter and “Real Housewives of New York” star Sonja Morgan.
Body contouring is not the only non-invasive aesthetic treatment booming right now. Allergan’s Botox cosmetic has started running television ads again, and AbbVie competitor Merz Aesthetics has launched a Xeomin campaign with celebrity spokesperson Gwyneth Paltrow. Galderma has also been running social media campaigns for its Restylane Kysse lip filler.