Gymbox mocks ‘grunt and grind’ rivals with fitness blitz

London-based fitness firm Gymbox is launching a new campaign designed to reinforce its brand position as the “antidote to boring gyms” with a major dig at the “grunt and grind” approach of the big gym chains.

Devised by AMV BBDO, which was appointed to the brief at the tail end of last year, the new out-of-home creative mimics graffiti, with cliché motivational quotes about working out scribbled over and phrases designed to sum up the Gymbox ethos.

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

The campaign is based on insight derived from a survey of over 2,500 Londoners that revealed almost half (48%) cited outdated motivational fitness quotes as their biggest turn off, followed by intimidating environments (21%) and body transformation images (16%).

Gymbox aims to position itself as the lively alternative to the serious environment of other big gym chains, offering training facilities and fitness classes in what it claims is an inclusive and fun atmosphere. AMV’s work builds on the existing Gymbox “Anything goes” campaign using the same strapline.

Launching this week, the campaign will run on London out-of-home sites and be supported by digital and social activity across Meta, TikTok and YouTube.

Gymbox brand and marketing director Rory McEntee said: “When did gym culture get so serious and weird? AMV have done a great job at helping us cut through the bullshit because there’s no right way or wrong way to work out. Working out should be as fun as going out and at Gymbox, we are about pure, unadulterated fun and self-confidence.

“With this attention-grabbing campaign, we wanted to get across Gymbox’s unique approach to keeping fit and it really brings our messages to life, raising a smile and demonstrating a positive attitude.”