Sad, sad, ad

Stephanie at Back in Skinny Jeans found this foul ad for a gym in the UK. Tell me, do you think they're trying to appeal to men or women? And I mean really, is this crap supposed to me motivating?! It reminds me of a 24 Hour Fitness billboard from 2000 that caused a lot of controversy with an image of an alien on it and the tagline, "When they come, they'll eat the fat ones first." Wow, that would really make me want to join that gym.

This brings me back to when I was a developing my fiesty young lass-iness - I remember working out at Bally's on a day pass and as I was moving it on the stairclimber, the overhead televisions were blaring music videos (ahh...remember that - pre-reality TV!) For some reason, Weird Al Yankovic's take on Michael Jackson's "Bad" was on -- "Because I'm Fat." I remember getting off my machine in a sweaty huff and marching over to the front desk to complain.

The girl behind the counter, who probably could not have even cared less what was playing, let alone if it was offensive or degrading, barely looked up from doing her nails as I dripped sweat and went on and on about "This is supposed to be a motivating place! People might be working out here who are overweight and trying to get in shape and you're letting this play?!" She got a manager - a surprisingly young guy who upon reflection looked like he should be asking "Would you like paper or plastic?" he was so young - and he attempted to calm me down but refused to change the channel (Weird Al was done by this point.) I stormed out in my own little attempt at a boycott. Maybe I'm a tad oversensitive to these things. But it felt good at the time.

Comments

thats a pretty dumb ad. gyms should have motivational ads, not degrading ones. 100% behind ya on this.

I dont get you at all. whats degrading about that ad or al's song? personally i find that other hot girls are motivation to get in gear. if they can do it so can I. It was only a song and at that a song sung by someone known for taking songs and putting a comedic slant on them. a joke. Why is it not ok to mention the word fat. we all know about it.

As one of those people that you mentioned in your completely justified tirade at the gym ("People might be working out here who are overweight and trying to get in shape and you're letting this play?!") I SINCERELY appreciate your consideration. It is a VERY rare occurence.

No one except an overweight (obese) person knows the ridicule and cruelty that gets pelted at us on an almost daily basis - which only serves to create self-loathing. This makes walking into a gym more difficult than the workout itself, because of the fear that someone will hurl a disgusted look at you, or laugh and think you don't belong HERE. Facing the possibility of yet again incurring that kind of reaction from people, well, think of a dog that's been kicked too many times. That really is the kind of mental struggle obese people have to make all the time. So, it's not just a song.

A gym SHOULD be a place of POSITIVE reinforcement, not MORE negativity. Thank you for not only recognizing that, but standing up for it.

OC - I think what I personally find degrading about the ad above is it intimates the only reason a woman would want to get in shape is because a newer, "hotter" woman started working at the office. We should want to workout for our own satisfaction, stress release, and yes, of course to look and feel good. But I think there's already so much divisiveness between women, what with all the catty remarks (see Britney) and competition for attention. Why drive us apart even more?

As Stephanie at BISJ put it, why not just write something like (I'm paraphrasing here), "Because your husband started cheatig on you with a skinny new blonde and you're a worthless blob so get your ass in gear!" It's motivation for the wrong reasons.

Leslie - you are a really decent person, and obviously extremely thoughtful. I wish there were more people around like yourself!

Besides the ad being degrading to women and catty, it's not even particularly clever. The campaign I actually think is kind of motivating is the Nike running campaign that has the "Gone Running" signs and "Someone busier than you is running right now". It's competitive, but more in a "no excuses" type of way, which I personally need.

Meg - I love that new Nike ad! I especially love how you can take it out and that it has a little "Will Return" clock on the back of it. I actually gave one to my BF because sometimes he needs a little reminder of how good he feels after he runs/workouts even if it means taking time out of his busy work schedule.

I can understand the comment by OC because sometimes we can get motivation from negatives thoughts. But as I learned in sports you can go much further and are more likely to achieve your goal if you get your motivation from a positive source. Negative energy eventually burns me out whereas positive energy keeps me going. Just my two cents :)

I like rose's comments re: negative & positive energy and i totally agree, I just think leslie that motivation is motivation and if somebody tries to lose weight first because of something negative the happiness from suceeding might keep them going. its like giving up cigarettes because of a price hike not because of health - the end result is still the same

I thought the ad was kind of funny. I go out of my way to watch things like "The Girls Next Door" and "Americas Next Top Model" because I find it motivating.

People get motivated different ways. That ad does appeal to a certain crowd.

I think the ad is sad when aimed at women - I think it would be much more effective and timely if it was aimed at guys.

Unfortunately women are competitive by nature. I think that the marketing world understands this and goes in for the kill. It is obvious however that this ad was probably done by a guy. I agree that women should be motivated by more personal goals and not based on the idea that a "newbie" is coming into her territory. Are we women or are we dogs?

Thats a really stupid ad and it doesnt contribute to anything useful.

This is a fantastic idea and I am sure it will help quite a few people out there!

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