The UK budget exercise chain The Gym launched a major New Year, multi-platform campaign – including its first ever television ad – in January 2019 with creative messaging focused on a range of eclectic and diverse set of reasons to start exercising.
The initiatives, called ‘So I Can…’ spans television, digital, social and out-of-home strands.
The spearhead television commercial offers left-field incentives for going to the gym: inspiring viewers to ‘live to a hundred’, ‘dance all night’, ‘be more confident’, ‘eat more fried chicken’, ‘vex your ex’, or even ‘see my willy’.
The spot is also fronted by a diverse range of sports stars and celebrities such as powerlifter Syeda Bukhari (who trains wearing a hijab) and Felicia Cantone (who is battling cancer and exercises to ‘fight the fight’).
The ‘So I Can’ campaign was developed in harness with new agency Who Wot Why – which won a competitive pitch for The Gym in September 2018 aand the lead video was directed by Sean Thompson through Dark Energy.
While Goodstuff Communications handled The Gym’s media.
Barney Harrison, marketing director at The Gym, said: “Who Wot Why brought so much to the party developing the ‘So I can’ work – a brilliantly different concept that challenged our limits, a wealth of experience to call upon and a massive dose of work ethic and fun that made the seemingly impossible timelines eminently possible.”
Comment:
January is, of course, the key marketing months for most exercise, fitness and gym brands as people everywhere make New Year’s resolutions to get fitter and healthier.
But, because so much marketing money is spent is the same short period, it is harder than ever to stand out.
Thus brands like The Gym turn to ‘So I Can…’ messages that surprise and shock in order to cut through.
Previous examples of this kind of approach include Gymbox’s 2018 ‘Get Dominated’ (see case study).
Links:
The Gym
https://www.facebook.com/thegymgroup
https://twitter.com/TheGymGroup
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGymGroupUK
Who Wot Why
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