MOJO Ad students unveil campaigns for Bath & Body Works
Bath and Body Works’s Chief Marketing Officer Jaime Sohosky takes notes during Team Aletheia’s presentation.
By Austin Fitzgerald
Photos by Nate Brown
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Dec. 11, 2025) — On Wednesday, Dec. 10, strategic communication students in MOJO Ad — the Missouri School of Journalism’s student-staffed agency — presented their advertising campaigns for Bath & Body Works, the latest in a string of high-profile clients for the agency that has included AT&T, Sour Patch Kids and Warner Bros. The campaigns were the result of a semester of work under the guidance of professors Brad Best, Frank Corridori, Jamie Flink and Jon Stemmle.
Three teams of seniors delivered their novel strategies for engaging the Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) market — MOJO Ad’s specialty covering adults aged 18-24 — to Jamie Sohosky, BJ ’93, chief marketing officer for Bath & Body Works. Tasked with deepening young adults’ connection to the brand, each team created innovative plans for public messaging across a variety of mediums and proposed collaborations with other brands and influencers, all while ensuring their campaigns were grounded in insights from research and would be possible to execute.
“The foundation this hands-on experience gave these students in research, teamwork, leadership and delivering results to a real client will serve them well when they enter the job market,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “I look forward to seeing them carry the confidence they displayed in their presentations into the great work they do for the industry.”
Presenting first was Team Aletheia, named for the Ancient Greek word for truth. The team described a campaign built around products personified as roommates, each representing the characteristics of different scents. Harnessing Gen Z’s love for Instagram, these personifications would come to life in the form of short-form video “microdramas” designed to reach audiences on social media.
“Microdramas matter because they meet people right where they’re already spending their time,” said Sophia Martin, the team’s copywriter, alluding to the immense popularity of Instagram and TikTok among people in the 18-24 range.
In contrast, Team Moxi sought to bring a scientific sensibility to its advertising approach. Aiming to put a more mature face on a company that some young adults might associate with their middle and high school years, they designed messaging that leaned into the chemical components of ingredients like lavender and grapefruit that can have beneficial impacts for stressed-out members of Gen Z.
“Our campaign repositions Bath & Body Works by showing scent is an invisible superpower that fuels success,” said Isabella Trost, Team Moxi’s public relations account manager for content.
Finally, Team Viridis — Latin for “green” — focused on positioning the brand as one that grows alongside its consumers as they emerge from adolescence into adulthood.
“Gen Z is overconnected and emotionally exhausted,” said Audrey Norquest, the team’s account manager, who went on to describe a related phenomenon known as “bed rot” in which people lay in bed for hours during the day due to stress or avoidance.
As a result, Viridis’ campaign hinged on three pillars designed to convey Bath & Body Works’ role in helping consumers rediscover their passions: “relight your mind,” “relight your identity” and “relight your life.”
Leveraging consumer trust in ads on streaming services, the team’s campaign would encourage those watching streaming television to use the brand’s products while also leading viewers to a quiz that connects personality types to brand-integrated identities. Those interested in music could also connect to curated playlists on popular music streaming services.
Ultimately, Sohosky — accompanied by the manager of the local Bath & Body Works location in Columbia, Missouri — expressed enthusiasm for the campaigns and had few clarifying questions. The thunderous applause from an audience of parents, faculty and the brand’s representatives spoke the final word.
Updated: December 11, 2025