Sunday, March 22, 2009

FitnessFirst: Using Public Humiliation To Up Their Gym Memberships!

Imagine, after a long stressful day at work or school, you head over to the bus stop dying to sit down and breathe for a minute. Just as you sit, eager to rest your legs, you discover that the bench you're sitting on is actually hooked up to a SCALE that's displaying your weight to EVERY passerby in big, red, glowing numbers.

Fitness First
, a gym chain in the Netherlands launched a new ad campaign, where they've hooked up the benches of bus stops to a scale that displays your weight to the public, and if you don't like what you see
, it tells you directly below where you can go to fix that problem.

Melissa on The F Word stated, "We’re sure Fitness First is expecting a huge spike in membership from this, but the effect is ruined the moment two people share the seat. That and, you know, trying to win people’s business by humiliating them."

Enough is enough! Not only are these people being publicly humiliated, but think about the damage this is doing to their self esteem. Like there aren't enough public advertisements ridiculing women who aren't a perfect size 2 (ie. facebook advertisements that are specifically targeted to women).

Many people let this issue slide because it's "health" related, but these are the issues that make girls develop eating disorders younger and younger, and quite frankly, I think we have enough little girls starving themselves trying to look like the photoshopped women they see in magazines.

12 comments:

  1. Wow, I might throw some fists if I see one of these in the Netherlands. This is horrible!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Imagine this was in NA? That shit would NOT fly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. that is the most ridiculous thing i have seen all year. or wait, almost all my life

    -clara

    ReplyDelete
  4. So crazy. Imagine you didn't know that was there, and you were just sitting down, listening to your ipod or something, then you look over and your weight is on display. How mortifying would that be!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So embarassing. What a negative way to attract business. It isn't as though there aren't already enough messages telling us that we aren't good enough-a bus stop doing the same? Just what we need. And besides, your number on a scale (one that is possibly altered to make you appear even more heavy) is a poor way to determine fitness level or one's overall health.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Couldn't have said it better J. Some people forget that just because you're skinny, doesn't mean you're healthy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ive never seen anything like this and it is shocking but sadly not as much as it should be. Its a very negative thing to put so much emphasis on the number because of course it is about how you feel and about health which as you commented, is not related to status as a toothpick.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is great! It really shows me where to expand my blog. I think, in future I must try to write a book to go along with my blog, but we will see. In the end, it’s a good post with useful tips and ideas.

    http://shop4pills.us/diovan_generic.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am mainly staggered by the way you phenomenal out evading on each and every little detail. It can be really going to help me a glorious offer. I supported the criticalness of keeping human/others insightful touch with the understudies and individuals in this season of front line guideline.

    Wellness challenges online

    ReplyDelete
  10. Much obliged for ones superb posting! I truly delighted in understanding it, you are an awesome author.I will make a point to bookmark your online journal and may return sometime in the not so distant future. I need to empower that you proceed with your extraordinary posts, have a pleasant weekend!
    Web Hosting Singapore

    ReplyDelete