The Planet Fitness brand is built on a belief of “No Gymtimidation.” Which means we want people, especially first time gym goers, to feel as comfortable and welcomed as possible. As it turns out, some of our members don’t feel 100% comfortable venturing into the free weights section. We decided to tackle this issue head-on by creating new product — a fully functional free-weight that couldn’t possibly be viewed as intimidating because it looks like an adorable puppy. Repeat, a dumbbell that looks like a puppy.

Some Planet Fitness members, especially first time gym goers, don’t feel 100% comfortable venturing into the free weights section. We decided to tackle this issue head-on by creating new product — a fully functional free weight shaped that couldn’t possibly be viewed as intimidating because it’s shaped like an adorable puppy. Original molds were developed and a composite vulcanized material was used – similar to how actual dumbbells are made. Why use an octagon mold when you can you a puppy?

The response was exactly what we hoped for. With no paid promotion, the Facebook post had a reach of 2.4 million+ and over 11,000 shares, the highest for Planet Fitness to date. Twitter received close to 8,000 impressions and 582 engagements and on YouTube the video received over 22,000 views in the first few hours. The sentiment around the prank was overwhelmingly positive, with people catching on to funny puns and realizing the Reclinomax, unfortunately, might not be coming to their nearest PF. Oh, and we also got a few PR mentions from Ad Week and Digital Trends.