January 2008
Equinox Fitness Clubs, New York’s leading fitness facility, introduces “Happily Ever”, an ad campaign like no other. An ad campaign that begs the questions, “What is your Happily Ever? What are you striving for in fitness? In life? What’s the fairy-tale end game to all your hard work?”
They can’t answer those for you, but the campaign offers provocative images as extreme suggestions of what the answer may be. These images are compelling, fantastical conclusions designed to remind them that motivation can help bring them closer to their wildest dreams.
Great Minds Think Alike
“Happily Ever” is the result of a unique collaborative effort between Equinox Fitness Clubs, Fallon, a worldwide leader in advertising, and Ellen von Unwerth, a legendary photographer and long-time fashion fixture.
“We’re thrilled to work with Ellen and the group at Fallon—people who are as impassioned about creative as we are,” says Equinox Creative Director Bianca Kosoy. “It’s been an amazing collaboration.”
Von Unwerth felt drawn to the concept of the campaign—her first in the fitness arena.
“I really liked the whole idea,” she says. “I believe in working out. In my life, yoga has really helped me to be fit, and it’s also given me more confidence. That’s part of the message. You look good, you feel good, and you have more fun, more unexpected adventures. This is not about a normal, everyday life.”
Beyond The Fitness Realm
Breaking new ground in fitness is nothing new to Equinox. Cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art equipment, an inspirational workout environment, and unparalleled focus on the member experience are some of the things that set Equinox apart in the market. This new ad campaign is no exception.
“Doing a campaign outside the four walls of the gym is a natural evolution for us, because we’ve always elevated fitness to a lifestyle,” says Kosoy.$
“Other gyms speak to the before and after, the everyman’s version of the gym. We believe it’s about the now as much as the after. It’s about how you live your life.”
That’s why Equinox clubs are designed the way they are. Why the front desk people know you by name. Why your personal trainer calls you to light a fire under your butt if you’ve missed a few workouts. Equinox has always been about offering the best gym experience so that you can have the best life experience.
A New Vision
The “Happily Ever” creative concept depicts idyllic fantasies that everyone can relate to. Eric Sorensen, a group creative director for Fallon said, “Everyone has a different “Happily Ever” that they’re working toward. This campaign simply visualizes them at their most provocative outcome.” Adds Hans Hansen, also a group creative director for Fallon, “The campaign really speaks to the overall life benefit of working out.”
Figure Drawing
In an ad called “Figure Drawing,” a naked man, as perfectly muscled as the David, poses for a group of young nuns set to paint him. He’s a canon of beauty, a classical model of perfection, comfortable enough in his skin to bare all.
Coy, flirtatious, blushing, and intrigued, the nuns can hardly contain themselves.
This David is the pinnacle of what a male wants to achieve in fitness—a body that can melt even a nun’s resolve. The nuns, meanwhile, get to look and to imagine what it might be like to touch.
“This is very naughty and I like to push things, you know. I’ve done books like Revenge,” says von Unwerth. “But I don’t like to just shock—there’s a message here.”
Adds Kosoy, “We’re elevating the fit, naked body to deity status—and creating a fantasy that speaks to both men and women,” says Kosoy.
Natural Beauty
In “Natural Beauty,” a fantastically fit beauty devoid of heavy makeup and stylized hair reclines near a pool, her white bikini highlighting her lean body. She’s surrounded by a bevy of artificial-looking girls—their hair stiff with hairspray, their features overly painted with makeup, their faces and bodies covered in plastic-surgery markings.
The natural beauty alone captures the attention of an equally fit male. Even as the artificial girls reach for him, he has eyes only for the girl in white.
With a slick nip/tuck feel, the image gives a nod to the prevalence of plastic surgery, but points out that taking the easy, surface-only route ultimately backfires in life. Here the man is content with the natural woman who is content with herself. “So many people don’t want to make any effort anymore with fitness,” says von Unwerth. “With this photo, we’re suggesting a healthier way of approaching it.”
Table
In “Table,” a man nonchalantly strikes Table pose and becomes the life of a Victorian party. This muscled, spectacle of fitness masters his brazen yoga pose in the midst of a room full of Baroque beauties. The girls are so enamored with his prowess and presence that they paw at him, trying to dominate his flexible body, giving the scene a dark, modern edge.
“It’s one part Dangerous Liaisons, one part Eyes Wide Shut,” says Kosoy. “He’s so fit, such a specimen, that beautiful women want to dominate him and yet he’s in charge, dominating them.”
Candles
“Candles” features a gorgeous older woman who sits provocatively on a table in a form-fitting dress. She’s surrounded by men of different ages who vie for her attention.
She playfully lets them join in her birthday fun as she blows out the candles on an enormous cake. She’s so toned and radiant that she blows all the men away with her beauty and power.
“We’re speaking to the inner component of fitness—we see the woman’s inner strength and health shine through and so do the men,” says Kosoy. When asked about her “Happily Ever”, she says, “I like this fantasy—the older woman, looking and feeling great, with all the men around her. She’s older, and she’s hot. I want to feel like that—fit, sexy, and confident until the end!”
What’s your “Happily Ever”? Log onto Equinox’s website to create your own “Happily Ever” fantasy and trade it with friends. The site also features a behind-the-scenes videocast of one of the ad-campaign images in the making.
Can you guess which one?
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