Join a gym in January and the only thing that is guaranteed to get lighter is your wallet. In the midst of a sea of self-flagellating nonsense and hollow self-motivational quotes, the fitness market is ripe for change. 

Enter Gymbox and its newly appointed agency AMV BBDO. Breaking through a sea of sameness a new campaign underlines Gymbox’s dedication to being the ‘antidote to boring gyms’.

The campaign follows a survey of over 2,500 Londoners which revealed that almost half of respondents (48%) cite outdated motivational fitness quotes as their biggest turn off, followed by intimidating environments (21%) and body transformation images (16%). 

The fine line between aspiration and alienation

The research underlines why fitness marketing is overdue a radical rethink. Between the body transformation images and outdated motivational quotes of the ‘beach body ready’ era efforts are far from aspirational, they are actively alienating consumers. 

With this in mind, Gymbox has responded with their own take on fitness quotes as they cut through the nonsense and motivational commandments. A move which the brand hopes will position them as the lively alternative to the serious approach of many big gym chains. 

AMV’s work builds on the existing Gymbox ‘Anything goes’ campaign using the same endline. The new out-of-home creative mimics graffiti, with clicheì motivational quotes about working out scribbled over.

 In one execution, the phrase “You can’t cheat on the gym,” is scribbled out and the words “which is lucky given your track record” are scrawled underneath. 

Launching to coincide with the traditional January fitness focus after the overindulgence of Christmas, the campaign will run on London out-of-home sites. It will be supported with significant digital and social activity across Meta, TikTok & YouTube.

Rory McEntee, brand and marketing director at Gymbox, said: “When did gym culture get so serious and weird? AMV have done a great job at helping us cut through the bulls**t because there’s no right way or wrong way to work out. “

He continued: “Working out should be as fun as going out and at Gymbox, we are about pure, unadulterated fun and self-confidence. “

Prabhu Wignarajah, Creative Director at AMV BBDO, added: “Gymbox has built an alternative to the typical dour, humourless gym chains and have created a fun, inclusive atmosphere. A fantastic brief like this deserves a great creative treatment”. 

AMV BBDO won the account in a competitive pitch against several other agencies at the end of last year.