Parking a few steps from the gym door is kind of like ordering a cheeseburger and a diet Coke. Isn't it?
Anytime Fitness won't dictate where its members leave their wheels, but the international 24/7 gym chain is encouraging its workout warriors to go the distance, even before they hit the treadmill. As part of a new campaign, the gym has created reserved spaces in the farthest reaches of their parking lots. How far? Several football fields away, whenever possible.
How's that for turning your life into a gym?
The idea, under the "Every Step Counts" tagline, came from agency GdB as a way to bring the club's brand position to life. "They believe good health is all about the little decisions you make throughout your day," Doug deGrood, the agency's chief creative officer, tells AdFreak. "It's not about going to a health club a few times a week or what happens during that one hour you're inside."
The reserved-parking program kicked off in Minneapolis, where the agency and gym are based, and has since spread to more than 100 locations. The plan is to continue broadening the effort. The spaces are intended to be permanent, not a limited-time stunt for the company, which has about 3,000 franchises in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and elsewhere.
A 90-second ad features an all-GdB cast to save on budget—that's deGrood playing the parking lot maintenance guy—and launches this week, ahead of most Jan. 1 fitness club marketing. It will get distribution across social media and digital channels.
"Reserved parking as far from the front door as possible," says the ad's closing lines. "Another Anytime Fitness member benefit," which deGrood described as "such a simple little thing they could do for next to no money, but it's so distinctive and memorable."
It's just one unique concept that GdB had lately for the client. Another—freezing the escalators at the Mall of America, courtesy of Anytime Fitness—might not make it past the drawing board.
CREDITS
Client: Anytime Fitness
Agency: GdB, Minneapolis
Concept/Writer: Doug deGrood
Co-Writer: Justin Lerman
Producer/DP: Justin Lerman, Megan Richter
Director: Doug deGrood
Editor: Justin Lerman