Vitality: Your Health’s Best Friend

Today, Vitality launches a new nationwide campaign for its health and life insurance business, with creative agency of record VCCP, bringing to life its ‘Your Health’s Best Friend’ brand platform, showcasing their differentiated approach to insurance.

The campaign aims to redefine what health and life insurance can do for people, emphasising how Vitality offers more than just protection; acting as an ally in its members health, helping them to take preventative measures today by building healthier habits, through nudges, insight, support and rewards. This translates in the campaign with the insurer showing up as a best friend – supporting, uplifting, comforting and inspiring – to demonstrate how Vitality can help you live up to five years longer.

Directed by Tim McNaughton through production company Arts&Science in collaboration with VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear, a 60” hero film sits at the heart of the campaign and features Stanley, the charismatic dachshund who has been the face of Vitality’s advertising campaigns and wider brand for the past 12 years. 

The hero spot opens with a man struggling to cycle up a hill on his way to work, being nearly knocked off his bike when another, faster commuter carelessly overtakes him. At this moment of despair, Stanley pops out of the commuter’s bicycle basket to give a motivating pep talk where he urges him to dig deep and make it up the hill. Inspired by Stanley’s encouragement, the cyclist reaches the top of the hill. The hard part is out of the way: now comes the fun part. With a familiar feeling of joy, he stretches out his legs and free-wheels down the other side of the hill, shocking the previous cyclist. 

Ideated by VCCP creatives Liam Wilson, Sam Adio and Ken Abalos, the campaign underscores Vitality’s core purpose: to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives.

Furthermore, this new campaign builds on the success of the organisation’s recent Life insurance campaign ‘Life’s Pretty Good’, which launched in January 2025 and first communicated the scientifically backed ‘live longer’ message. The campaign won Bronze at the 2026 IPA Effectiveness Awards and is a finalist at the 2026 Effie’s UK.

Keith Kropman, Chief Marketing Officer at Vitality said: “Our brand has always stood out in insurance. We have never shied away from the role we can play in supporting healthier lives. In taking a prevention-first approach, we can help our members build a healthier today and tomorrow. Launching Your Health’s Best Friend, and using this film to bring this to life, is another key moment for us. It’s supportive, encouraging and there for you: everything a best friend should be.”

Liam Wilson, Creative Director at VCCP added: “This work is a much-needed dose of fun that celebrates the joy of living healthier, with a tiny dachshund encouraging action. It’s a bit of entertainment to remind people just how good life can be.”

The campaign will run nationwide from today spanning TV, social and radio. Media planning and buying was managed by TODAY-TOMORROW.MEDIA and social was handled by McCann.

*Based on members who move from 0 to 21+ activity points a week throughout their lifetime, applied to standard UK mortality rates. Vitality study 2024.

Source: VCCP

  Advertising, Campaign, Girl&Bear, Marketing, VCCP, Vitality