To coincide with the launch of Butterblu’s new college edit, the lifestyle brand is tapping a slew of Division I athletes and students from Duke, Florida State, Notre Dame, Boston College and UC Santa Barbara to front its campaign.
With its roster of athletes spanning men’s and women’s tennis, soccer, , field hockey and surfing — and with more schools being rolled out each week, Butterblu is also creating a 12- to 24-month documentary-style campaign around the athletes’ rise in sports and their day-to-day life to give them the ability to shape products, creative and storytelling along the way.
Notable athletes to watch fronting the campaign include tennis player Cooper Williams, women’s soccer’s Avery Oder, and men’s soccer’s Úlfur “Wolf” Björnsson, all from Duke; tennis player Azariah Rusher from Florida State; Boston College football’s Luca Lombardo, and Notre Dame women’s soccer’s Chayse Ying, Charlie Codd, Clare Logan and Morgan Roy — the combined athlete and team reach is about 2 million.
Student-athletes from Duke.
“We went after D1 athletes on purpose,” Michelle Visser, founder of Butterblu, said in an interview. “They’re hyper-focused on their physical and mental health, held to the highest academic standards and their teams function like families.
“We tested Butterblu with athletes around the country. They’re tough critics, and they loved it. They’re over sweatpants. They want loungewear that’s ultra-soft, organic and good enough to wear through an airport. At that point, it didn’t make sense to only ask their opinion, so we put them in the campaign. It became a true collaboration — and we learned a lot about how they live and chill.”
Beyond being faces of the campaign, Butterblu interviewed them to bring to life the brand’s products, photography and video. With athlete-specific products, capsules and colorways under development, the company is launching loungewear designed for travel and life in between competitions.
Student-athletes from Notre Dame.
Capturing unscripted moments of practice, travel, locker-room downtime and moments around competitions, the content will be featured across Butterblu’s website, social, email and paid media alongside retail channels such as Amazon, Target, Macy’s and Nordstrom. The athletes will also share content across their own social media platforms.
“The [athletes] are Gen Z and they inspired the line,” continued Visser. “This generation holds brands to a higher standard and expects transparency, so involving them from product development through the campaign just felt right. We captured hours of behind-the-scenes video because that’s how they want to see a brand: unfiltered.”
When it comes to sustainability, Visser said that using GOTS-certified organic materials is “non-negotiable” for the brand; this is especially relevant for athletes, who are focused on what goes into their bodies, including what they wear.
Student-athletes from Boston College.
“Conventional cotton is grown with heavy use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and we don’t fully know the long-term effects of those residues, or of materials like polyester and plastics, against our skin. So we err on the side of caution.”
Visser, who founded Burt’s Bees Baby and Honest Baby Clothing, has been a leader within the organic cotton space and has previously spent a decade working in consumer and retail at the likes of Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co. and Pottery Barn Kids.
After helping build children’s brands and seeing her own kids grow up alongside the brand, Visser said the College Edit was created based on the idea of never outgrowing comfort.
“This is the next generation of world-class athletes. In a few years, they’ll be at the U.S. Open and in the draft, and it’s fun to show them like this first,” concluded Visser.