Goodbye Stereotypes. Hello Zerotypes.
Goodbye Stereotypes. Hello Zerotypes.
Zalando kicks off the fashion year with a new campaign that offers a glimpse into a world free from stereotypes and celebrates the freedom of being yourself
Zalando kicks off the fashion year with a new campaign that offers a glimpse into a world free from stereotypes and celebrates the freedom of being yourself
For its spring campaign, Zalando tackles one of the big obstacles to diversity and freedom: stereotypes. In a study run in partnership with YouGov across select markets, Zalando found that 89 percent of respondents felt that stereotypes continue to exist in today’s society. The majority of survey participants named media as one of the main culprits with 57 percent referencing film and TV shows and 60 percent mentioning advertising.*
The new Zalando campaign sets out to say goodbye to outdated stereotypes, challenging common notions like "Dresses are only for women," "Suits should be only worn in the office" or "Only women can wear pink." In turn, it invites the viewer to a richer world of freedom of self-expression without labels. The campaign is the third installment of Zalando’s “Free to be” brand positioning, launched last September and celebrating the belief that when you are free to wear what you want and be who you want, nothing can hold you back. With this new marketing direction we want to emotionally engage with our customers and position Zalando as the Starting Point for Fashion for them, empowering their fashion choices regardless of size, age, gender or background.
A Zerotype challenges the preconceptions around age, gender, bodyshape, background and tries to show fashion in a different light.
Jonny Ng, Director Marketing Strategy and Campaigns
To capture this freedom of choice and self-expresssion and provide an antonym to a stereotype, Zalando coins a new term - Zerotype.
Zerotype - n - /ˈzɪərəʊtʌɪp’/ - plural: zerotypes
A person or belief not confined to one idea, type, expectation or limit.
We need to tear down the great gender divide in fashion.
Caroline Carlqvist, Lead Digital Experience
In the video Director of Marketing Strategy & Campaigns Jonny Ng and Digital Experience Lead Caroline Carlqvist explain the idea behind the Zerotypes campaign, talk about Zalando’s vision of offering an even more inclusive shopping experience to our customers and discuss how they live the Zerotype philosophy in their daily Zalando work.
Find out more about the campaign here
* Study conducted in partnership with YouGov Plc. in January 2020 in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and Sweden (total sample size: 11.333 adults)