While most people like to believe that popular culture and media depictions are inclusive of all types of women, it’s easy to identify the cracks in this façade. A vast majority of US media, especially US advertising, is reserved for outdated definitions of the ideal appearance with little room for the even the slightest of imperfections. Age, weight, race, professional rank, and a host of other “different” characteristics are often subverted for women in media. Although everyone recognizes the reality of the situation, few people, and even fewer brands, want to discuss it. Equinox, strengthened and emboldened by the diverse composition of its members, refuses to shy away from this conversation in its campaign – focusing instead on commitment in all ways, shapes, and forms.

We represented Samantha’s inspirational story through a video, portrait, and six high-impact OOH units across key markets. The Samantha video and portrait image launched on 1/3/17 on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter, through the brand’s organic channels and to broader audiences via paid media and social influencer posts. Samantha’s still portrait also ran across OOH units which launched between 1/3/17 and 2/13/17 in three key markets: New York, Southern California, and Miami. The portrait represented the “hero” unit in New York and Los Angeles, with 100% SOV of billboards that were 30 feet x 46 feet (on E. Houston Street in New York) and 83 feet x 60 feet (on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles). On social media, the video saw over 2.6MM impressions and the still portrait saw over 7MM impressions. The OOH versions of the portrait saw an estimated 19.92MM impressions.

The Samantha video saw 2,643,859 impressions across social media (FB/TW/IG), her portrait reached 7,048,460 impression across social media (FB/TW/IG), and the estimated number of her impressions for the OOH portraits is 19,922,181. There was 16,912 engagements on the Samantha video and 82,404 for the portrait. Social influencer posts drove a massive response with 78.3MM impressions in total. Though part of a larger campaign of “commitments,” Samantha’s story individually saw an outpouring of positive feedback and support, with media coverage of the portrait/video in People Magazine, Huffington Post, Glamour, TODAY, Refinery 29, NYTimes, Fortune, Time, Cosmo, and many others. This PR and media coverage drove an additional 426.7MM impressions showcasing Samantha’s story.

There is a truth to the idea that the things people commit to, in time, become their identities. We wanted to illustrate the overlap of commitment and identity not just with the subject matter of our creative, but with the models used to represent these subjects. We therefore developed creative that represented commitment in its rawest, most striking form. And while Samantha Paige, a cancer survivor with an elective double mastectomy, wasn’t an obvious “face of the campaign”, her commitment was an ideal representation of why society’s image of a “perfect” female form is anything but perfect.

Our target was affluent progressives who share a 'fitness mindset’ and grapple with millennial issues like female empowerment and LGBTQ rights.

Equinox is a luxury fitness brand with 87 global locations. The business enables its clientele to maximize their lives with a holistic approach to fitness that includes movement, nutrition and regeneration.

While Equinox’s values are centered on healthy living, we know there is no one-size-fits-all approach, with members defining “health” and “beauty” in ways unique to their own goals—particularly for women.

Equinox maintains an aspirational tone, but also speaks directly to a diverse spectrum of high-performing individuals. Our campaign challenges the media’s feminine ideals, communicating that individuals can and should define their own ideas of perfection and beauty.