A motivational kick in the pants

Located in the Netherlands, Fitness First took it upon themselves to use a different approach to marketing. To get more people in their clubs, the company turned to a school-yard approach - public shaming. When someone sits on a bench to rest while waiting for the bus, the ad literally shows the person's weight in red numbers for the world to see. There is no warning that you are sitting on a scale, but sure enough, your weight is publically announced.



I find this campaign hilarious. I am not sure how I feel about it in the marketing sense or how I would feel if it were my weight up in flashing red numbers, but merely on a top-line reading, it is intriguing.

We are told repeatedly that as a population, we are getting fatter and fatter but that doesn’t seem to stop us from grabbing another slice of pizza. Maybe we need the ‘no prisoners’ approach. This aggressive, somewhat offensive method to get our butts on the treadmill. I just wonder if those unsuspecting bus-goers are going to be on the Fitness First treadmills, rather than going somewhere, anywhere, else to lose those embarrassing pounds.