Friday, February 5, 2016

Will you join Equinox gym because they support breast feeding?



I have to admit that I thought women breast feeding in public was a done deal.  They even have a plot on General Hospital about it.  But apparently Equinox thinks we still have room to go before achieving acceptance and they have chosen to embrace the issue with this ad.

While I applaud their support I can't help but wonder if this campaign will actually motivate people to join Equinox and start exercising.  Since only 20% of Americans get enough exercise, probably less if people were honest, it's a tough job. (Tracy, 2015)

I like the theme - "Commit to Something" because from what I have seen, people with passion are happier than those without it.  But, I'm having trouble connecting the campaign to exercise.  (Hughes, 2015)

You can check out the rest of it here...

What do you think?  Would this campaign motivate you?  What about other Millennials that you know?


Tracy, A. (2015, April 6)  At Least Three Quarters of Americans Don't Exercise Regularly. vocativ.com.  Retrieved February 4, 2016, from

Hughes, C. (2016, January 28) A Response To Equnox's Latest Ad Campaign: Your Brand Should Stand for Something.  forbes.com.  Retrieved February 4, 2016, from

5 comments:

Stina said...

Interesting reading, especially the Forbes article, although I have to say disagree. To me this campaign just doesn't make sense. I'm not familiar with Equinox gym and if I saw this ad, I would have no idea what it is advertising. I understand that the aim of this campaign is to catch your attention, but at least for me it’s not intriguing enough that I would find out what Equinox is. In my opinion ads like this rarely work, the only exception that comes to my mind is Oliviero Toscani’s campaigns for Benetton. Those images were definitely powerful enough to stop you for a second!

Unknown said...

This is an example of very controversial campaign which I don't particularly like, but I do understand the intention. In my opinion consumers are already used to seeing fitness companies and sport brands advertise themselves with models working out in a gym, jogging outside with motivating sentence that goes alongside.
Equinox made almost the same thing with using very powerful theme „Commit to something“ which is short and catchy; but did the twist with their choice of photos. Firstly, they hired world's known provocative and edgy photographer. Secondly, the chosen theme for every picture was more than controversial and in the end this collaboration resulted with campaign that raised a lot of debate. With that being said I find this very interesting and I understand their main goal.
By doing this, they made step forward in fitness advertising, and for sure they will be noticed by everyone. But the group of people they targeted were Millenials. For them outer appeal is very important, so is having their own opinion and speaking their mind without any fear of being judged. Equinox is telling them with this ad, that no matter where they come from, if they make a commitment and stick to it, they can achieve a certain goal. In this way they are getting closer to this important target group that will most likely want to go to Equinox.

Reema said...

The ad does a very good job of standing out from all the other ads and does catch the eye. However, I did not have a clue of what Equinox was before i looked it up. No association can be made with breast feeding and going to the gym. The point of breastfeeding isn't very clear. If they're was something health related or gym related then maybe it would be more likely to motivate me. The ad fails to show what the benefit is of the company clearly. What does fine dining have to do with the gym?Looks like a ad you'd associated with a art magazine. From the fine dining and fancy restaurant we can conclude that the ad may target a higher income group.

Unknown said...

Watching this ad I had no idea of what it was advertising: a design magazine, an underwear brand, a restaurant?
Pictures are finely crafted and provocative but don't show me the exclusive advantages attending this gym. In particular the photo of breast feeding isn't so clear, but the only way I could interpret is that a young mother
doesn't have to give up to her social life and her appearance.
I don't know how popular is Equinox and if it's so well known to publish an ad that in any manner doesn't show services offered (for example Coca-Cola doesn't need to remember in its ads that is a beverage: everybody knows).
In conclusion I think that is the originality of this set of photos to push the viewer to look for more information on Equinox and services that offers.

Hiroki Kato said...

I though it is very interesting approach to differentiate them from hundreds of other fitness clubs and delivery their message, Equinox isn't just a fitness club, it's a temple of well-being., therefore I think it could work for their target.

As for their primary target, since their monthly fee costs more than double for average fitness clubs, those who want to just work-out are not their target. Those who improve themselves and their life through exercise will be their primary target.

In order to capture target's attention, classic fitness advertising, such as showing "before and after", is not enough and the competition of price or convenience would not be target primary interests.
Considering assumed target's interest, which is beyond just doing exercise, their campaign message, Commit to something, with artistic images showing a confident look will be the one approach to convince target to choice Equinox rather than other fitness clubs.