Himalaya’s new #StrongWomenSoftSkin campaign spotlights the Indian women’s ice hockey team, choosing real athletes over celebrities to highlight resilience, authenticity, and performance. Training in extreme conditions, the team reflects the brand’s promise of protection and nourishment. The campaign brings long-overdue visibility to the sport while celebrating women who embody true strength.
Himalaya Body Lotion campaign #StrongWomenSoftSkin was clear on the need to step away from the familiar and expected. The campaign celebrates strength and resilience. Instead of leaning on celebrity endorsements or predictable faces, the creative team set out to find a story that embodied the product’s promise in a way that felt real, relevant, and rooted in lived experience. That search led them straight to one of India’s most extraordinary yet under-recognised groups of athletes—the Indian women’s ice hockey team. These sportswomen, who train in unforgiving environments and push the limits of endurance every single day, became the living metaphor for what the brand wanted to communicate: protection, nourishment, and unwavering spirit in conditions that test you to the core.
“The decision to work with the Indian women’s ice hockey team was more than a creative leap; it was an affirmation of the values the brand wanted to champion. In a world where marketing often revolves around the same handful of glamorous personalities, choosing athletes from a sport that survives on grit rather than visibility signalled a bold shift. Ice hockey in India exists far from the limelight, fought for by players who train on frozen lakes in the remote Himalayan regions or on synthetic rinks with limited infrastructure. Their challenges—extreme temperatures, scarce funding, and the need to constantly justify their sport’s relevance—mirror a story of persistence that aligned seamlessly with the ethos of Himalaya’s skincare philosophy”, said Sunil Penugonda,CEO – Plan B & OwlWorx.
In their world, temperatures drop to levels most people will never experience. Cracked ice, biting winds, and hours of physically demanding drills define their training sessions. It is a realm where skin protection is not a luxury—it is a necessity. This honest, unembellished relationship between extreme conditions and genuine care is what made the partnership feel natural rather than manufactured. Himalaya Body Lotion’s promise of intense nourishment and protection could not have found a more authentic stage than the ice rink. Through this association, the brand was able to showcase performance under pressure, not through scripted narratives but through lived reality.
The Indian women’s ice hockey team has always been a symbol of resilience. Made up of players primarily from Ladakh—one of India’s coldest regions—the team represents young women who grew up surrounded by mountains, ice, and a growing passion for a sport few around them understood. Their introduction to ice hockey was often informal, born out of community tournaments on frozen lakes. As their skills sharpened, so did their ambition, leading to the formation of a national team that has competed at the Women’s Challenge Cup of Asia and other international tournaments. Despite limited resources, they have consistently shown improvement, making headlines in recent years for their determination and discipline.
Their journey hasn’t been easy. Unlike athletes in mainstream sports, these women do not have the luxury of corporate sponsorships, abundant training facilities, or widespread fan support. Most of them juggle academics, work, and intense training schedules. The Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) continues to push for the sport’s growth, but financial support is still scarce, leaving the players to rely heavily on community fundraising and public goodwill. Their story, however, is a testament to how passion can thrive even in the harshest environments.
This context is what made the Himalaya collaboration powerful: it wasn’t about creating heroes—it was about acknowledging the ones already out there. Women who skate on ice that is sometimes hand-poured at night. Women who travel for days to attend training camps. Women who have learned to fall, get up, and glide again with quiet determination. Their strength is not just physical—it is emotional, cultural, and deeply personal.
The campaign’s message—If Himalaya Body Lotion can protect skin in an ice rink, it can handle anything your day throws at you—captured this synergy beautifully. The creative execution focused on authenticity over spectacle. The film crew spent time with the athletes, observing their routines, documenting their challenges, and translating their unfiltered experiences into visuals that stayed true to their spirit. The cold, the friction, the repetition of practice, and the camaraderie of the team were captured with an honesty that scripted ads often lack.
The imagery shows more than action; it shows stories etched in every frame. The effort of lacing up skates in sub-zero temperatures. The sound of blades cutting through ice. The calming ritual of post-training care. These moments reflect both vulnerability and power—aligning perfectly with the brand’s message of strong women with soft, nourished skin.
For the players, the campaign became more than a commercial association. It was a rare moment of visibility, a chance to show the nation that their sport exists, thrives, and deserves recognition. Campaigns like this have the potential to shift attention toward sports that struggle for acknowledgment in India’s cricket-dominant landscape. By bringing the women’s ice hockey team into mainstream conversation, Himalaya also contributed to amplifying an important cultural narrative—one where lesser-known sports and their athletes are valued for the grit they embody.
The Indian women’s ice hockey team itself has seen remarkable transformation over the years. What began as local winter games gradually evolved into structured training programs. The team has steadily climbed from modest international placements to performances that have surprised their competitors. Their participation in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia has been a milestone, giving them a platform to compete at a global level. Even with budget constraints, the team has pushed boundaries, often traveling with borrowed gear or second-hand equipment.
Players such as their captain and senior defenders have spoken openly about the emotional weight of representing India in a sport that many don’t even know exists. Their families have stood behind them, offering encouragement in regions where sports for women are often discouraged. Each match they play is a layered victory—not just against an opponent on ice, but against the limitations society places on young women from remote regions.
By collaborating with them, Himalaya allowed their story to reach millions, adding a new dimension to the #StrongWomenSoftSkin narrative. It showcased that skincare is not merely about appearance—it is about protection, confidence, and the ability to perform at your best. In positioning the athletes as the face of the campaign, the brand highlighted that real beauty lies in effort, not glamour.
The campaign also sends an important message about representation in advertising: that real stories resonate more deeply than manufactured celebrity glamour. At a time when brands are increasingly being asked to stand for something meaningful, Himalaya chose to spotlight authenticity. The partnership reflects a growing shift in the marketing world—a recognition that consumers value honesty, purpose, and stories that reflect lived realities.
For Himalaya, the decision to engage with the women’s ice hockey team has paid off not only creatively but culturally. It has strengthened the brand’s reputation as one that champions wellness, empowerment, and the courage to choose what’s right over what’s easy. It is a reminder that powerful stories often come from the margins, and that sometimes the most compelling ambassadors are those who have never been seen on billboards before.
This campaign, therefore, becomes more than an ad. It becomes a tribute—to women who play a game few understand, to a sport that refuses to die despite the odds, and to the idea that strength and softness can coexist with grace. It is a testament to the power of looking beyond the obvious and finding narratives that deserve to be told.
