A new campaign, “Leave the Cult, Join the Club,” created by We Are Pi, was launched to mark (World Mental Health Day). Virgin Active’s series of ironic messages turns toxic fitness mantras upside down.
The new campaign encourages people to replace performative self-improvement with something more balanced, enjoyable and authentic. The event coincides with World Mental Health Day and the Royal Parks London Half Marathon.
The campaign, released under the brand’s ongoing Where Wellness Gets Real platform, aims to address “wellness burnout” – the anxiety and exhaustion caused by the current obsession with optimization and the social pressure to meet impossible standards.
In London, the brand expanded the campaign at the Royal Parks Half Marathon on October 12, where 16,000 runners and tens of thousands of spectators heard the Virgin Active message.
“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 humor instead of pressure, Virgin Active is helping tackle the toxic messages that have become the norm in the wellness industry.”
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