Bondi Sands bets on feeling, not forecasts, with ‘Summer Never Ends’

Bondi Sands built its name on a place: the sun‑drenched, salt‑sprayed mythology of Bondi Beach. Today, under the senior director of brand and marketing, Kym Bonollo, the brand is deliberately shifting its centre of gravity from postcode to mindset. “Summer Never Ends,” its new global platform, is less a tagline than a strategic reset for a self‑tan and suncare leader now talking to consumers in more than 30 countries.

From season to state of mind

The starting point was a change in how Bondi Sands viewed its consumers. Internally, the team recognised that beauty is no longer about overt transformation or perfection, but about what Bonollo calls “effortless confidence”, even when there is plenty of invisible work behind the scenes. At the same time, “summer” itself has evolved from a three‑month season into a cultural shorthand: feeling lighter, more carefree, more like your favourite version of yourself.

“We realised that what people truly connect with isn’t just warm weather or holidays, but the way summer makes them feel,” Bonollo told Inside Retail. That insight prompted the brand to move beyond a strictly seasonal narrative and define summer as a mood accessible year‑round. “Summer Never Ends” became the natural expression of that evolution, reflecting how Bondi Sands’ global consumer already lives, shops and self‑tans across climates and calendars.

Recasting the Bondi Sands world

If you’re going to say summer is a mindset, your creative has to prove it. For this campaign, every executional decision was anchored in authenticity and relatability rather than postcard perfection. Casting skewed towards confidence over flawlessness, with talent selected for natural, understated polish that still reads as aspirational on a global stage. Locations stepped away from the obvious beach clichés. Instead, they captured lived‑in moments of freedom and connection: getting ready with friends, spontaneous afternoons outside, quiet rituals that anchor a busy week. 

Storytelling, too, leaned into mood over plot. Instead of dramatising a specific “summer moment,” the work focuses on how summer feels in the body—radiant skin, relaxed shoulders, a certain looseness in how you move through the world. “All elements were purposefully selected to reinforce the idea that radiant skin and confidence aren’t reserved for a specific place or time of year,” Bonollo said. The result is a brand world that suggests you can “live like it’s summer, always,” whether you’re in Bondi, Berlin or Boston.

Protecting the Bondi DNA while going global

Bondi Sands’ origin story remains a powerful asset in a crowded, increasingly regulated category. Sun, sand, optimism and ease are non‑negotiable elements of the brand’s DNA. What’s changed is how literally that story is told. Rather than positioning Bondi purely as a physical destination, Bonollo’s team reframes it as a symbol of possibility and optimism that can travel. “That allowed us to retain what makes Bondi Sands distinctly Australian, while translating those values into something emotionally resonant for consumers everywhere, regardless of climate or geography,” she explained.

That reframing matters for a business that now plays in more than 30 countries and thousands of retail doors worldwide, from Australia and New Zealand to the UK, US, and Europe. By loosening the grip of geography, Bondi Sands can maintain its distinctly Australian attitude while telling emotionally resonant stories in markets where “summer” may be fleeting, aspirational, or heavily shaped by culture and climate.

Global insight work underpinned that shift. While the visual language of summer varies—rooftop bars versus coastal road trips—the emotional associations were surprisingly consistent: simplicity, connection, optimism and a more confident self. The strategy, therefore, focuses on feeling rather than seasonality. “The execution avoids overt summer signifiers and instead leans into universally recognisable moments and moods – spontaneous joy, self-assurance, radiant skin – ensuring the platform feels relevant whether it’s winter in London or summer in Sydney,” Bonollo said.

Building a year‑round platform, not a one‑off campaign

Critically, “Summer Never Ends” is designed as a long‑term brand platform, not a single‑season burst. Bonollo is positioning it as the foundation for how Bondi Sands will present itself creatively, culturally, and commercially over the next few years. The idea gives the business a flexible framework to tell stories across categories – from self‑tan to SPF and skincare – and across markets, without reinventing itself every quarter.

That discipline also reflects lessons from previous campaigns. One key learning, Bonollo noted, was the power of restraint. “Less literal storytelling can unlock stronger emotional impact,” she said. This time, the team consciously avoided over-explaining and relied on mood, feeling, and relatability to do more of the heavy lifting, building a platform rather than a moment that spikes and disappears.

A cohesive ecosystem of touchpoints

For a digital‑first business, cohesion across channels was a non‑negotiable from the outset. “Social storytelling and creator partnerships sit at the heart of the campaign, supported by our newly announced global ambassadors: Australian beauty entrepreneur Sammy Robinson, UK personality Chloe Burrows and US TikTok twins Azra and Aisha Mian,” Bonollo revealed. Together, they mirror the diversity and geography of Bondi Sands’ growing international audience.

Beyond social, “Summer Never Ends” extends into large‑scale out‑of‑home executions across Sydney and Melbourne, subscription video on demand placements, paid digital, PR, trade marketing and in‑store education. Each touchpoint is designed to reinforce the same emotional idea – that radiant skin and confidence are not reserved for a particular place or season – so the campaign lands as an integrated brand world rather than a hero film with disconnected supporting assets.

Defending leadership through emotion

The self‑tan category is noisier and more regulated than ever, with new entrants jostling for shade range, skin benefits and price. Bondi Sands, now owned by Japanese beauty giant Kao Corporation, already leads the self‑tan market in Australia and holds a significant share in major overseas markets. For Bonollo, the next phase of growth will be won through emotional connection as much as functional superiority.

“‘Summer Never Ends’ positions Bondi Sands as a lifestyle brand that understands how beauty fits into people’s lives,” Bonollo stated. By framing its products as part of a confidence‑boosting ritual – simple, repeatable, year‑round – the platform shifts the conversation beyond transactional attributes. Success will be measured not only in sales but also in long‑term brand health: shifts in perception, emotional affinity, and relevance outside traditional summer windows, as well as signs of increased year‑round usage and consideration.

Looking ahead, the “live like it’s summer, always” mindset is set to shape everything from new product development to partnerships and market expansion. Future innovations will be assessed through a simple lens: do they support radiant skin, confidence, and ease all year round? If the answer is yes, they belong in a brand that no longer sells just the Australian tan, but an enduring, exportable feeling.

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