Key takeaways
Within the past two weeks, Lilly has announced a pair of partnerships with Queer Eye star Tan France as well as NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
France told MM+M that this campaign aligns with his long-standing work on Queer Eye to help people express themselves, feel empowered and overcome shame.
As Lilly nears the end of 2025, the focus is already on the brand’s big plans for 2026.
Over the past few years, Eli Lilly has made a concerted effort as a brand to lean into pop culture.
Whether with sports, film or fashion, Lilly has fostered relationships with prominent public figures to bring greater attention to conditions its drugs treat.
Within the past two weeks, Lilly has announced a pair of partnerships with Queer Eye star Tan France as well as NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
Lina Polimeni, Lilly’s SVP and chief marketing officer — consumer, said while celebrities can bring greater attention to a campaign or cause, the focus remains on positively impacting patient outcomes.
Polimeni said her team assesses any potential opportunities through the ultimate objective of the campaign, which is getting treatment options into the hands of patients.
“Even the partnerships with any of the celebrities is tied to patient need,” she said.
Deconstructing obesity stigmas with fashion
By collaborating with France, Lilly is taking a fashionable approach to the topic of obesity.
France is contributing to Lilly’s Changing the Thread Collection, which features clothing embroidered with messages from people who describe their struggles living with obesity. A free immersive pop-up experience showing off the work will be held in New York on Friday and Saturday.
In support of Lilly’s GLP-1 Zepbound, France will act as an advocate for the campaign to combat stigma and bias surrounding obesity.
He told MM+M that this campaign aligns with his long-standing work on Queer Eye to help people express themselves, feel empowered and overcome shame.
“[The clothing] tells a tale of what that person experienced wearing it, how it encouraged them to hide away, to feel shame and all of those feelings attached to that,” he said. “Hopefully this will encourage people to think in a more understanding and open way.”
Through his involvement in Changing the Thread, France said he got to ask the exhibit’s participants about their personal experiences and sought to empower them to realize they have options available to treat a chronic health condition.
For someone who has made a career in fashion, he added that this initiative was personal for him as so many people expressed how their internalized biases around obesity made clothing an impediment to their happiness rather than uplifting them.
As Lilly continues to advertise around its GLP-1 offerings in a way that directly addresses those longheld societal stigmas, France said he wants to be part of the large-scale effort to move away from the belief that weight issues are purely personal failings.
While he said he hopes people living with obesity attend the two-day exhibit, he added that he wants to see a diverse audience show up and engage in compassionate conversations.
“I think the reason why [Lilly] brought me on is because I speak to such a broad audience and I don’t put my name to many things,” he said. “I’ve built up a trust where if I say that I support something, it’s because I truly believe that this is something I should back. So all I’m asking is for people to join us.”
Super Shaq versus sleep apnea
At the same time as its fashion debut, Lilly is doubling down on star athletes.
A few weeks before announcing the partnership with France, Lilly teamed with Shaq to shine a spotlight on moderate-to-severe sleep apnea.
A continuation of its Don’t Sleep on OSA initiative, this campaign aims to educate the public about symptoms and treatment options for sleep apnea. Polimeni said the superhero angle came as a result of working with agency partner Area23, a 2025 MM+M Agency 100 honoree.
Polimeni acknowledged that while O’Neal is one of the most famous athletes of the past few decades and a frequent spokesperson for brands ranging from The General Insurance to Papa John’s, the real value he provides to this campaign is that he lives with sleep apnea.
She credited his mix of humor and authenticity for driving the campaign’s message on the various media channels it is rolling out across.
“The thing I loved about this collaboration was the fact that Shaq was going to show up as Shaq — that’s who he is and a lot of his brand is about being fun, laughing and having a good time,” she said. “But he was the first one, personally, to also understand that this is not really a laughing matter.”
As Lilly nears the end of 2025, the focus is already on the brand’s big plans for 2026.
Lilly recently announced its roster of Team USA athletes for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano Cortina 2026, which will take place in February.
In the new year, Polimeni said the brand plans to continue leveraging cultural moments to boost its message while also maintaining a patient-centric approach to its marketing.
Amid a year of widespread volatility in the healthcare industry, with plenty of existential questions lingering about the future of medical marketing, Polimeni opined that she took solace in a strategy that kept the brand’s mission simple.
“As long as I can anchor everyone in the patient — and it may sound basic — but that’s because it’s true. That’s been a very important reinforcement for me this year,” she said.