Ashley Roberts Turns Sweat Shaming into Hot Fashion Statement for Extra Flamin' Hot Snacks

The campaign, crafted by Good Relations (part of VCCP), features a billboard that releases 1,000 liters of water over Roberts’ face every few seconds, simulating the perspiration caused by snacks

By Creative Salon

02 September 2024

Two weeks after her highly publicised red carpet sweat-shaming, Pussycat Doll and Heart Radio breakfast DJ Ashley Roberts appears to have turned the tables. She has been named the face of Extra Flamin’ Hot Snacks, a brand that revels in the physical reactions their spicy products elicit.

Recognising a fitting opportunity, Extra Flamin’ Hot and Good Relations (part of VCCP) chose to highlight Roberts as their new dewy ambassador, embracing her very natural response to heat.

Commenting on the appointment Rob Pothier, senior marketing manager for Extra Flamin' Hot said: “We’ve taken Ashley from sweat shame to sweat fame. From her red carpet fashion faux pas to becoming the face of Extra Flamin’ Hot’s latest campaign, she has shown that sweat isn’t something to shy away from but to embrace.

Taking no notice of those who baited her, the Pussycat Doll, eating Extra Flamin’ Hot Doritos, sported a statement ‘Trend Sweater’ t-shirt while proudly standing in front of a giant 10m x 7m billboard of her sweaty face at today’s launch.

Looking for all the world like the (Pussy)cat who got the cream, Ashley put her pit patch fashion faux pas behind her, as she unveiled the building-sized billboard. Simulating the effect of sweat, the mammoth billboard will pump 1000 litres of water over her face every few seconds for the next week.

Commenting on her role as the new sweaty face of Extra Flamin’ Hot, Ashley Roberts said: “What can I say? Over a quarter of people say they sweat after eating spicy foods and I’m one of them. I love the Extra Flamin’ Hot snacks and enjoy their heat - I honestly don’t care about the physical reactions. It’s natural and I don’t want anyone to feel ashamed of it”

The radical out-of-home - a first of its kind - is located at Truman Brewery in East London, and is part of a campaign designed to make sweat stylish by working with models more associated with haute couture than hot crisps.

Showing that sweat, a common side-effect when eating spicy food can be worn with swagger, the high fashion ‘Hot Couture’ creative was shot by world-famous photographer, for RANKIN. The campaign’s hero image features Ashley with visible underarm sweat patches, embracing that which she was publicly shamed for in the media, just two weeks ago.

Alongside the sweaty out-of-home, Extra Flamin’ Hot has released research on people's perspiration perceptions.

The startling stats showed that one in four Brits (25 per cent) have been ‘sweat shamed’ - actively had their sweat patches pointed out - in the past. Perhaps unsurprisingly, three-quarters (72 per cent) say they feel uncomfortable when they visibly sweat, and 45 per cent admit to feeling ashamed.

The least appropriate time to be caught visibly sweating is on a first date (52 per cent) - after all, one in four (24 per cent) of people describe excess sweating as a turn-off - followed by meeting someone for the first time (39 per cent), or when in a confined space (36 per cent).

However, a third (30 per cent) believe that it’s OK to be visibly sweaty after spicy food, like Extra Flamin’ Hot snacks.

The hot new flavour, available across Doritos, Walkers MAX, and Wotsits Crunchy has been inducing snack lovers’ sweat patches since its release earlier this year, and the brand expects that this appointment will bring on the sweats for even more people.