Going to the Gym Doesn't Have to Get All 'Hunger Games,' Says Planet Fitness

New Hampshire-based national fitness chain Planet Fitness, which recently went public, has gone blockbuster with its "no lunks" message in a new cinema ad riffing off the "Hunger Games." Working with its agency Red Tettemer O'Connell & Partners, the low-budget gym previously has taken the piss out of gym rats in funny ads riffing off all those annoying fitness enthusiasts you're likely to encounter when you're working out, such as the bulldog drill sergeant, the self-absorbed hot chicks, yoga fanatics, and deep-burning bros. These "lunks," as the advertiser dubs them, are strictly banned from the gym and are subject to expulsion if they set off a unique "lunk alarm" installed on the premises. This latest ad, airing in theaters starting today ahead of the latest installment of the "Hunger Games" trilogy takes the "Gymtimidation" idea up a notch as it follows one timid woman who walks into one of those industrial-style meathead havens. Although she just came by to hop on the treadmill for a few minutes and maybe roll around on a pilates ball, she's thrown into a match of death with Dmitri, an apparently over-roided muscleman who looks like he could crush a barbell with his pinky. Cut to a scene at Planet Fitness, where the service rep tells the woman that she's free to work out any way she wants, with absolutely "no fights to the death." "In our advertising, we continue to portray how many people feel intimidated and uncomfortable when they walk into a typical gym, and how you won't find that at Planet Fitness," said Planet Fitness Vice President of Marketing Jamie Medeiros in a statement. "In the 'Battle Gym' spot, we took it to another level and created an epic long-form spot for the big screen that really emphasizes this in a larger-than-life way."

Going to the Gym Doesn't Have to Get All 'Hunger Games,' Says Planet Fitness

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