What’s most shocking about these gym marketing campaigns? The body positivity
Equinox and Blink Fitness are trading traditional models for a more diverse range of body types as part of their new year marketing campaigns.
Most fitness ads feature a very specific type of woman—one with a six-pack and a C cup.
But two of the nation’s biggest gym chains are realizing that, in our current climate of body positivity, attracting new clients requires a different approach (and a lot more diversity).
Yesterday, budget brand Blink Fitness unveiled its 2017 “Every Body Happy” campaign, featuring 16 real members discovered during a social media casting call. Models of all shapes and sizes were chosen based on their self-confidence and dedication to a healthy lifestyle—not because of the heavily-filtered sports-bra selfies that usually beget fitness modeling contracts.
According to a Blink survey, 69 percent of Americans are discouraged by the unrealistic body ideals they see in the media. “As consumers, we’re constantly inundated with images of so-called ‘perfect’ bodies, and the fitness industry can be particularly heavy-handed with this,” says Ellen Roggemann, VP of marketing for Blink Fitness. “At Blink, we want to redefine the aspirational image of ‘fit.’”
