A new campaign from Canadian non-profit ParticipAction is trumpeting the benefits of peer pressure with a satirical take on PSAs.

“Fall in with an Active Crowd” demonstrates the health and social benefits that can come from joining sports, exercise and other activity-based groups, by parodying familiar tropes found in PSAs. The campaign’s launch TV spot features a woman talking about how her husband hasn’t been the same ever since he joined a mall walkers group.

“We all grew up with very serious PSAs warning us about the dangers of peer pressure,” says Jenny Glover, CCO with Zulu Alpha Kilo. “We thought it would be fun to make our own serious anti-peer pressure PSA, but instead of a fearful parent talking about their kid falling in with a bad crowd, now it’s a woman talking about her husband falling in with a group of mall walkers.”

The campaign is driven by a ParticipAction survey, which found that only 16% of respondents believed those close to them are meeting physical activity guidelines, when in reality, nearly half of adults living in Canada are active enough to meet those guidelines. 

“This newfound gap between activity levels and perceived activity levels indicates a misperception among Canadians and that people potentially have different views on what qualifies as physical activity,” Rebecca Jones, senior director of marketing and communications with ParticipAction, tells strategy. “Changing this misperception and broadening examples of what physical activity looks and feels like can help normalize a culture inclusive of active living in Canada.”

ParticipAction’s previous education campaigns, such as “Everything Gets Better,” focused on increasing awareness about the benefits of physical activity. The strategy behind its latest work is to present social bonding through physical activity in a positive light.

Jones says the benefits of an active lifestyle are well-known to people living in Canada, and the new campaign builds on that understanding by leveraging connection and community through activity. 

She adds that ParticipAction’s marketing is meant to spotlight physical activity, empower and support people to move more, and advocate for prioritizing physical activity as a way of life.

“Our focus for this campaign is connecting with an audience we call the ‘getting started audience’ – a portion of the adult population who has the motivation and intention to be physically active but has been unable to make it a habit,” Jones says. “We believe this audience will be most receptive to our message and hope the campaign is received with a laugh or a smile, and of course, motivation to go find and fall in with an active crowd.”

ParticipAction’s longtime AOR Zulu Alpha Kilo developed the national campaign. It includes connected TV and linear broadcast spots, with placements on YouTube and Meta. It also includes social videos featuring a person feeling troubled because their partner is showing interest in activities like pilates or yoga.

The campaign will run until March, and was developed in partnership with M&K Media, with consultation and French adaptation handled by The French Shop.