Equinox made me do this

It seams to be my month of 'workout-posts', maybe because I am getting ready for a nice long skitrip in the Dolomites or just because the weather is so nasty right now in New York City that I finally have some time to write.

Have you seen the new Equinox ad campaign lately? I just saw one billboard on Broadway on the UWS and it made me and my family stop and wonder…

Who did what to whom? And why was Equinox involved? It looks so painful. The only thing that this ad and a workout have in common is that both hurt...sometimes. This picture makes me want to stay far, far away from this gym!?!

When I researched the story behind this campaign I came across some really awkward news: Equinox ditched Terry Richardson  after 3 years in favor of Wieden+Kennedy. The awkwardness is not at all the change to W+K, a great global agency…no, but shouldn't the change bring something good? 

The controversial Terry Richardson generated some controversy with his campaign in 2011 about using thin instead of fit models and using sex to sell. 

And what is W+K using to sell Equinox to a broader audience?

'For this campaign we wanted a photographic approach that had strong sense of narrative and realism,' said Stuart Jennings, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy New York. The agency chose Robert Wyatt as the photographer for one reason, because he is a storyteller with a fashion sensibility…hmmm…yes, those pictures tell a story…but the one you intended to tell?

But please, be the judge: