DJ Khaled Weight Watchers

DJ Khaled Becomes Weight Watchers Social Media Ambassador

Last week, Weight Watchers introduced DJ Khaled as the company’s new social media ambassador. The award winning DJ and producer will document his use of the program via his social channels, including his very active Snapchat account. In a press release, DJ Khaled characterizes his use of Weight Watchers as being more about adopting healthier habits than focusing on weight loss. According to a press release from the company:

“Weight Watchers is all about being great and being your best self. My son is my love, my life, and I need to be great for him,” said DJ Khaled. “To be great is to be healthy; to be healthy means a shift in my lifestyle, and the new WW Freestyle program is all about healthier habits for my life. The WW program and community is my partner in this process to greatness, and I’m grateful for what’s to come and to share my journey with you all.”

Photo: Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for DXL

Is This Off Brand for DJ Khaled?

This is not the first time DJ Khaled has partnered with a brand. He is also featured in DXL’s Time to XL campaign, which focuses on helping “men of all sizes feel empowered by looking good in what they wear.” Before that, he appeared in a commercial for Silk, the milk substitute product. If you follow DJ Khaled on snapchat, you see that engaging in an active and healthy lifestyle is a recurring theme. Tying this in with the fact that he is willing to partner with brands that seem to fit into his lifestyle in some way, the collaboration with Weight Watchers isn’t such a stretch.

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Photo: Shanna Sturgell

Targeting Men

For Weight Watchers, working with DJ Khaled is a no-brainer. After a partnership with Oprah turned the company’s fortunes around, it was only a matter of time before it looked at ways to replicate this model with other celebrities. According to market research firm Marketdata, the U.S. diet products and services market could grow to $70.3 billion. A substantial area of market growth could be men, who have traditionally been more difficult to reach. With DJ Khaled’s reach (8.9 million on Instagram and almost 4 million on Twitter) and appeal, Weight Watchers may be able to grab the new audience they are after.

Diets or Healthy Living?

As a company, Weight Watchers is attempting to pivot from being focused on weight loss to being focused on living a healthy lifestyle with their new WW Freestyle program. According to the press release, CEO Mindy Grossman says the company understands the difference:

“Being healthier is not just about weight anymore. It’s about overall health and wellness—being your best self. By capturing and sharing his process, [DJ Khaled] will enliven and inspire his community, showing that it’s possible to integrate healthy habits into your life.”

While some people are applauding the change, others point out that Weight Watchers is still a diet and encourages weight loss – which is not the same as healthy living. WW Freestyle is still based on the same point system the company has used for years.

What Do You Think?

At Chubstr, our stance is and always has been that you’re amazing at any size. What do you think? Will DJ Khaled working with Weight Watchers bring them more new customers? Is the WW Freestyle program a diet or simply a way to live healthy? Does it matter to you? Tell us what you think in the comments below or tag us @chubstr on your favorite social network.

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