MEG STALTER KICKS DOWN JENNA LYONS' OFFICE DOOR IN CHAOTIC FOOTWEAR FEUD FOR VIVAIA'S FW26 AD CAMPAIGN: "EVERYONE SHOULD GET TO DO IT ONCE IN THEIR LIVES"
The Hacks star and Broadway's current Oh, Mary! lead goes head-to-head with style icon Jenna Lyons in a hilarious new workplace ad from global footwear brand VIVAIA; settling the ultimate style vs comfort showdown with office warfare, a kicked-down door and one very dramatic corporate merger
NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Meg Stalter, Emmy-nominated Hacks star and current Oh, Mary! lead on Broadway, joins American fashion icon and Real Housewives of New York City alum Jenna Lyons in global, comfort-first footwear brand VIVAIA's new RE:WORK FW26 ad campaign, questioning why women should still have to choose between shoes that look great and shoes they actually want to wear all day.
The campaign premise assigns roles to both women with Meg Stalter in charge of product comfort, as the fictional Chief Comfort Officer and fashionable Jenna Lyons typecasted as the opposing Chief Style Officer. VIVAIA asks them to settle one of fashion's longest-running footwear debates which results in someone losing an office door!
Everybody should get to kick a door down… in a pair of cow print sneakers," Meg Stalter said of her role, adding, "I loved being the boss for the day. I've always fantasized about having an office and being in charge." Prior to her comedy career taking off, she had spent years working day jobs and nannying so getting to play the boss in the campaign proved particularly satisfying.
Also unveiled in the new ad film, is VIVAIA's RE:WORK collection, ($129-$249) which rethinks the traditional office shoe, bringing style and all-day comfort together across everything from clogs and loafers to sneakers and heels.
In the campaign, Stalter rejects shoe after shoe from her desk, calling an emergency design meeting. Her verdict on Lyons' latest creation?
"Those shoes you sent me were big slay mama! But they also slayed my bunions. Ouchie."
When an unfazed Lyons puts her on hold, Stalter becomes increasingly entangled in a phone cord. Then, after her attempts to submit a 'Comfort Proposal' are rebuffed, diplomacy officially breaks down.
Stalter suits up, swapping cow-print heels for cow-print VIVAIA sneakers, before marching towards Lyons' office and kicking the door down.
"Just in from corporate, there's been a merger!" she announces.
By the next morning, the footwear feud reaches its epic conclusion. The two Chief Officers are now sharing an office and, after fighting for opposite sides of the debate, the grand reveal: they've been working towards exactly the same shoe all along. Turns out, they're sole mates.
On filming her action-hero entrance, Stalter said: "Everyone was excited about the stunt, which I think says a lot about us."
JENNA LYONS ON HER VIVAIA CAMPAIGN ROLE
For Lyons, there wasn't quite as much acting required when it came to her VIVAIA campaign job title.
"I mean, let's just face it, I am the Chief Style Officer," Lyons joked on set.
Once dubbed The Woman Who Dresses America, she has one hard-fast rule when it comes to footwear: "I think when shoes are stylish and not comfortable, they're not doing their job. No one looks good when they're in pain, and you've seen those girls teetering after a night out - that's not chic. Teetering is not chic. So as far as I'm concerned, if the shoe's not comfortable, it's dead to me."
There is another footwear habit she would happily see disappear - the familiar ritual of commuting in one pair of shoes before changing into the 'good' pair on arrival.
For Lyons, VIVAIA's RE:WORK collection means there should be no need for the swap. "I have always noticed women changing their shoes on the way out of the subway, and it absolutely drives me mad," she said.
"These (VIVAIA) are the shoes that you actually don't have to change. They go from the subway right into the office."
MEG STALTER ON HER VIVAIA CAMPAIGN ROLE, OH MARY! and MORE
Meg Stalter agreed her VIVAIA role was reflective of her personal style. "I am a comfort shoe person," she said. "I'm not interested in suffering for a shoe. I want to look cool, but I also want to be comfortable."
Her favorite from RE:WORK is the AVOIR loafer she wears at the end of the film. "They genuinely feel like slippers," she said.
Her role as VIVAIA's Chief Comfort Officer feels particularly fitting given her current day job. She is now starring as Mary Todd Lincoln in Broadway's Oh, Mary!; a role that sees her causing chaos, eight times a week.
"My Mary Todd definitely chose comfort," Stalter said. "She's kind of a brat and childish and stomping around, so if I'm going to be running around causing problems, I need to be comfortable."
Her shoes have been put through an equally demanding test off-Broadway. Earlier this year, Stalter wore VIVAIA CAROL Sneakerinas on-stage while appearing at Coachella.
"I wore them on stage with my Minnie Mouse outfit with PinkPantheress, which is a very serious shoe test," she said. "Coachella is already a lot - you're in the desert, you're walking everywhere, your body is going through it - so they passed with flying colors."
Stalter continued, "Not naming names, but I wore a different brand at another Coachella and my feet really hurt, so I'd say the VIVAIA shoes definitely were the best."
The VIVAIA campaign lands at a huge moment for Stalter, with her inaugural Broadway run entering its final weeks, her first Emmy nomination for Hacks ahead of next month's ceremony and her debut album Crave on the way.
"I feel so lucky that I get to do these fun, weird things," she said. Stalter also loved partnering with Jenna Lyons for VIVAIA's campaign. "I love her and her aesthetic," Stalter said. "Everyone was telling me how cool and stylish she was before the shoot, and you can completely see it in the film."
Stalter is already pitching the campaign sequel to work with Lyons again. "I'm obsessed with our pink and green matching offices. I want a whole movie with the two of us! I want part two!"
VIVAIA'S CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ALAN BUANNE'S CAMPAIGN CAMEO
The campaign includes a little creative role reversal - VIVAIA's Creative Director, Alan Buanne, makes a fun cameo as Jenna Lyons' assistant in the video, a situation she seemed thrilled with.
"Alan's playing my assistant today, which is also working for me," she joked on-set, calling him 'an absolute gem.' Buanne was equally happy with his role.
"I was very happy to take the temporary demotion," Buanne said. "Jenna, of course, made a very convincing Chief Style Officer."
Off screen, however, Buanne has spent the past year leading a very real rethink of what modern work footwear should look and feel like.
RE:WORK started with a simple idea: in 2026, making a great-looking shoe is only half the job.
"As a designer, the real challenge is creating a shoe that looks incredible, but that a woman can put on in the morning and still want to be wearing at the end of the day," said Buanne.
"Comfort has to be considered from the very beginning, through the construction, materials and fit. With all our styles at VIVAIA, we've engineered that comfort into silhouettes that still feel directional, desirable and relevant to how women dress today."
That also meant challenging what an 'office shoe' looks like in the first place.
"Women also aren't dressing for work in one uniform anymore, so why should work footwear mean another black heel?" he said. "RE:WORK moves from clogs and loafers to 'sneakerinas' and heels, with color, texture and personality. The silhouettes are different, but the principle is the same: every shoe should feel as good as it looks."
And when it came to finding two women to bring that idea to life for the RE:WORK campaign, Buanne said Meg and Jenna's differences made them the perfect pairing.
"Jenna has this incredible instinct for what makes something chic, while Meg brings this completely fearless, unpredictable energy," he said.
"Putting our Chief Style Officer and Chief Comfort Officer in adjoining offices and letting them fight it out felt like the perfect way to tell the story. They couldn't be more different, but that's exactly why they work together."
He adds: "I hate to make a shoe pun, but they really were the perfect fit."
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About VIVAIA
VIVAIA is a global footwear brand founded in 2020, dedicated to combining comfort, style, and recycled materials to create high-quality footwear designed for everyday life. Today, the brand has expanded to more than 61 countries and regions worldwide, collaborating with international partners to develop diverse footwear technologies and recycled materials. The brand has been seen on Bella Hadid, Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, Jenna Ortega, Julia Roberts, Katie Holmes and lots more. It is also a high-performing affiliate brand with a range of retail partners including Nordstrom and Amazon.
SOURCE Vivaia
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