Primark Launches £10 Activewear Sub-Brand 'Form' With a Trope-Busting VCCP Campaign
TL;DR: Primark has spun out a standalone activewear brand, Primark Form, with a VCCP campaign that undercuts premium sportswear on price — £10 pieces — while gently mocking the category's earnest advertising clichés.
What Primark actually launched
Primark has unveiled Primark Form, a dedicated activewear sub-brand, supported by a campaign called 'That's Kinda Game-Changing' created by VCCP. The 30-second film, directed by Andreas Nilsson through Biscuit Filmworks, sends up the breathless, sweat-and-slow-motion tropes that define most premium sportswear advertising.
The positioning is unapologetically about price: activewear pieces built around a £10 value anchor. Media is handled by One Publicis, with organic social from SocialChain, and the launch runs across gym out-of-home, fitness podcasts and partnerships with Men's Health and Women's Health.
Marketing Minute's read: value retail is buying a category, not a product
The interesting move here is not the leggings — it is the decision to build a named sub-brand rather than drop another line into the George-style value-fashion pile. A sub-brand gives Primark a container it can advertise, extend and merchandise as its own world, which is how you convert a cheap product into a considered purchase.
By openly parodying premium sportswear's self-serious tone, Primark is doing something smarter than competing on features it cannot win on. It reframes the whole category as overpriced theatre and casts itself as the honest, affordable alternative — a positioning that travels well in a cost-conscious market.
Why the timing works
Activewear has become everyday wear, and the athleisure boom means shoppers now buy performance pieces for the school run as much as the gym. That widens Primark's addressable audience far beyond dedicated athletes and plays directly to its footfall-driven, impulse-friendly model.
For other value brands, the lesson is that a distinctive, self-aware voice can do the heavy lifting that a bigger media budget usually buys. You do not need to outspend Nike or Gymshark if you can make their conventions look faintly ridiculous.
Quick FAQ
What is Primark Form?
Primark Form is Primark's new dedicated activewear sub-brand, launched in September 2026 with a value price point built around £10 pieces and a VCCP-created campaign, 'That's Kinda Game-Changing'.
Who made the Primark Form campaign?
Creative is by VCCP, with the launch film directed by Andreas Nilsson via Biscuit Filmworks. Media is handled by One Publicis and organic social by SocialChain.
Why is Primark launching an activewear sub-brand?
A named sub-brand lets Primark build and advertise activewear as its own world, competing with premium sportswear on price while the athleisure trend widens the everyday market for performance clothing.
Primark isn't selling leggings here — it's selling a point of view. Naming a sub-brand and teasing the category's earnest advertising is how a value retailer earns the right to be considered, not just cheap. It's confident, and confidence is what shifts a shopper from 'why not' to 'yes'. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: a self-aware brand voice can out-manoeuvre a bigger media budget — value retailers win by reframing the category, not by copying the incumbents.
Would a cheeky, self-aware tone make you rethink a value brand — or does it risk undercutting the product itself?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Decision Marketing, Retail Gazette, Drapers.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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