Is the wellness industry making us … unwell? That’s the sentiment behind a new campaign from Virgin Active that turns toxic fitness mantras on their head via a series of tongue-in-cheek messages.
Timed to coincide with World Mental Health Day and London’s Royal Parks Half Marathon, the latest phase of the fitness brand’s Leave the Cult, Join the Club campaign – created by Amsterdam-based agency We Are Pi – encourages people to swap performative self-improvement for something more balanced, kinder and real.
Released under its ongoing brand platform, Where Wellness Gets Real, the campaign is designed to draw attention to ‘wellness burnout’ – the anxiety and exhaustion caused by the current obsession with optimisation and the social pressure of trying to live up to impossible standards.
Bus stop ad for Virgin Active’s Leave the Cult, Join the Club; All images © Virgin Active / We Are Pi
Alongside new ad executions across OOH, digital and radio, Virgin Active clubs around the world are spotlighting recovery and relaxation, reframing rest as an essential part of wellbeing rather than a sign of weakness.
In London, the brand extended the campaign into the Royal Parks Half Marathon on October 12, where 16,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators encountered Virgin Active’s messaging.
Classic clichés like ‘go hard or go home’ are being subverted at mile markers and cheer zones, while post-race billboards will poke fun at the relentless ‘no rest days’ mindset. Meanwhile, a brand sponsored Recovery Zone will give runners a literal and figurative space to slow down.
“Wellness looks different for everyone, and it’s madness that the loudest voices in fitness still sound like drill sergeants,” said Rick Chant, ECD at We Are Pi. “It takes a brave client to turn that on its head – but by using humour instead of pressure, Virgin Active is helping tackle the toxic messages that have become the norm in the wellness industry.”