Equinox launches New Year Manifesto Marketing Initiative Titled ‘We Don’t Speak January’

US luxury fitness outfit Equinox went against the fitness brand grain with a January exercise and fitness #ItsNotFitnessItsLife platform prioritizing long term dedication over fleeting New Year‘s resolutions and built around a manifesto titled ‘We Don’t Speak January’.

The national marketing burst, Equinox‘s largest ever campaign, was developed in partnership with independent agency Collins and spans OOH, print and digital platforms

The campaign is led by bold, copy-led outdoor executions and a New York Times full-page ad, plus owned digital and paid social content and in-club initiatives.

The monochrome, copy led creative both challenges and questions the norms of the wellness industry with lines such as: ‘January promises and doesn’t deliver’, ‘We don’t speak January’ and ‘January will not text you back next month’.

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It’s not you, it’s January. #ItsNotFitnessItsLife pic.twitter.com/Bg6lBnSUR2

— Equinox (@Equinox) January 1, 2023

#ItsNotFitnessItsLife pic.twitter.com/xuKg9Lg4I2

— Equinox (@Equinox) January 10, 2023

#ItsNotFitnessItsLife pic.twitter.com/pa28pdFzcU

— Equinox (@Equinox) January 5, 2023

To reinforce the message, the whole gym chain is stopping any new customers becoming Equinox members on 1 January.

“We believe January is a farce, laden with mantras and affirmations that are pleasant for three weeks, but never push you further,” said Equinox VP and ECD Will Mayer. “Equinox is not buying in. Equinox exemplifies the belief that life is forged at the extremes, and because we are for people who constantly push themselves to those extremes, we can’t in good conscience support the ‘new year, new me’ movement that happens every January.”

Comment

Equinox operates 106 clubs, according to its website. It also operates a hotel in New York City that the Wall Street Journal dubbed the “fittest hotel on earth.”