How La Roche-Posay turned tennis into a platform for beauty marketing
La Roche-Posay, a dermatological brand from the L’Oréal portfolio known for its expertise in sun protection and sensitive skin care, has launched a new campaign that may be of interest to marketers targeting active, health-conscious audiences.
The campaign, called Club La Roche-Posay and developed by the creative agency AnalogFolk, promotes the new Anthelios UV Pro Sport sunscreen while also addressing sun-related misinformation circulating on TikTok. Instead of traditional product marketing, the brand uses tennis as a platform for lifestyle communication, combining sport, skincare and digital influence into a cohesive narrative.
The concept places the viewer inside a fictional American country club with a distinct French aesthetic. It’s a deliberate nod to the American cultural perception of private clubs as exclusive spaces. The French style adds lightness and global sophistication while staying true to the brand’s DNA.
In the video Welcome to the Club, viewers are introduced to fictional members of the club, along with branded La Roche-Posay merchandise. This reinforces the campaign’s focus on community and identity. The tagline — “Feel the heet. Not the burn” — targets people who enjoy being active in the sun but care about protecting their skin. The playful wording and slightly irreverent tone give the message viral potential, particularly within TikTok culture.
While social messaging has long been part of beauty brand strategy, La Roche-Posay’s focus on tennis is more pointed. The brand has brought in ATP and WTA stars Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Madison Keys — a move clearly designed to connect with a younger, largely female audience for whom sport and self-care are closely linked.
“I was recently at Indian Wells and noticed the tennis crowd is changing,” said Joshua Yosefsky from La Roche-Posay’s marketing team in an interview with Glossy. “We’re seeing more interest from younger people, especially women. So it felt like the right time to respond to that cultural shift.”
This shift has been driven by several recent cultural moments. One was the release of Challengers, starring Zendaya — a Gen Z icon — which helped reshape the cultural perception of tennis, making it feel more emotional and stylish. At the same time, the #tenniscore trend exploded on TikTok, as users embraced tennis-inspired fashion regardless of whether they played the sport themselves. Meanwhile, the women’s tour — now supported by equal prize money and growing media attention — has become more prominent and appealing to brand partners.
Against this backdrop, Club La Roche-Posay feels like a timely and strategic move. The campaign lives on TikTok and Instagram, with a series of short videos, educational content, influencer storytelling and branded visuals. Its distinctive aesthetic, serialized storytelling and use of merchandise create the impression of a shared identity — even if it’s fictional.
The campaign will culminate at the US Open 2025, where La Roche-Posay will once again serve as an official partner. On-site activations will include branded zones, dermatology consultations and live content production from the tournament.
Although the brand has been involved in tennis for years — notably through its partnership with Roland-Garros since 2020 — the Club La Roche-Posay campaign marks a meaningful shift: from sponsorship to storytelling. Sunscreen is no longer positioned as a functional product alone, but as part of a tennis-inspired lifestyle — and a way for the brand to embed itself in the world of a new generation of tennis fans.
