Jenny Craig to launch new male-targeted weight loss initiative

Feb 19 2011

Jenny Craig, Inc., one of the leading authorities on weight management, is launching a new male-targeted initiative titled "Jen Works for Men" with celebrity spokesperson Jason Alexander as the face of the new campaign. Alexander, who famously lost 30 pounds on the program, wrote, directed and starred in the new series of national commercials for the weight loss company, slated to launch on Monday, February 21, 2011.

"When I first started Jenny Craig, I heard a lot of feedback that Jenny Craig is only for women," said Alexander. "Just because the program has a woman's name, does not mean the program is only for women. I've had great success on it, and I know a lot of other men have as well. That's when I got the idea to create the campaign 'Jen Works for Men.'"

The first commercial in the "Jen Works for Men" campaign to air is titled "Line of Men," and stars Alexander with ten male Jenny Craig real clients who have all lost a significant amount of weight on the program.  

"The guys in the commercial with me are real guys, not actors. They lost weight just like I did on the Jenny Craig program," said Alexander.  "We shared a lot of the same experiences on the program. Writing these spots for Jenny Craig was fairly easy, as I was able to draw from my weight loss journey, which was similar to what other men experience as well."

Inspired by his son to lose weight for his health, Alexander joined Jenny Craig in January 2010 and achieved his weight loss goal of 30 pounds* in May 2010, thanks to the help of his consultant Kathy.

Said Alexander, "'Line of Men' grew from the fact that I had people asking me if I did some celebrity version of the program, which couldn't be further from the truth.  I followed the Jenny Craig meal plans, I relied on my consultant Kathy, and I worked the program just like everyone else.  There are no bells and whistles on my program. So I got the idea of using men that real people can relate to, and the spot came out of that."

"Line of Men" is not the first commercial concept created by Alexander. For his 30-lb weight loss reveal commercial in May 2010, Alexander conceptualized a Broadway-style song-and-dance musical number that left him "baring it all" to long-time Jenny Craig celebrity client Valerie Bertinelli.

Alexander's success on the program motivated many male clients to have similar results, including Jose Muniz, a real client who lost 60 pounds* on the program and stars in the "Line of Men" commercial alongside his inspiration, Alexander.

"Many of our male clients relate to Jason Alexander's weight loss journey, and look up to him as an inspiration to lose weight and get healthy for their families," said Patti Larchet, CEO of Jenny Craig, Inc.  "We are thrilled to launch the 'Jen Works for Men' campaign tailored to the male audience because we know that Jen really does work for men."