Last Sunday, the premium workout center Equinox unveiled its biggest out-of-home (OOH) promotion to date dubbed “We don’t speak January.”

The nationwide campaign, created in collaboration with independent agency Collins, discourages irregular dedication in favor of continuous commitment. To drive home the point, the company blocked new clients who wanted to join the gym on January 1.

According to Will Mayer, the vice president, and executive creative director at Equinox, January is a farce. It’s a month full of mantras and affirmations that are only viable for only three weeks.  Equinox does not support the idea and instead embraces people who consistently push themselves to extremes. Equinox is an example of the idea that life is fashioned to extremes.

Equinox’s unusual new year message

When people visited Equinox’s website on January 1 to join up for the lavish gym, they were met with an unusual message.

“It’s not you, it’s January.”

The firm also described the month of January as “a fantasy, brought at your door in a box of pastel colors.”

“You are not a resolution for the new year. The beginning of the year is not the beginning of your life. Being a part of Equinox is not about that, ” read the message to the potential new members.

Equinox only allowed new registration on the second day of the month

The message’s final paragraph assured individuals interested in signing up that the gym was looking forward to welcoming them the next day.

To justify its position, the business shared a list of arguments for not allowing new clients to join in a photo on Twitter.

According to Mayer, the campaign represents a change from photographic advertisements to monochromatic language.  It disrupts and questions the conventions of the wellness sector.

Visual components with statements like “January promises and doesn’t deliver, we don’t speak January” and “January won’t text you back next month” will be displayed in clubs and on city streets across the country.

Online Reaction to the campaign

The gym chain’s posts has generated online criticism with the hashtag “#ItsNotFitnessItsLife.”

A Twitter user referred to the marketing ploy as “the cringiest flex in New Year’s history”.

Nevertheless, some people have praised the campaign on Twitter with one user referring to Equinox’s marketing as A+.