Virgin Active positions itself against the ‘toxicity of wellness’ with global rebrand
The gym chain’s marketing has been “middle of the road” for too long, says CMO Andy Tomkins, who joined the brand last summer.
By Molly Innes
Virgin Active is positioning itself against the wellness industry with a global rebrand aimed at helping gym-goers escape the “cult” of wellness, as part of a global marketing transformation led by new CMO Andy Tomkins.
The campaign is informed by insight that ‘wellness’ might be doing more harm than good, suggests Tomkins, who joined the brand last summer after three years at Disney. “There is this sense, driven through social, around perfectionism, and this notion that whatever I eat, however I train, is never going to be good enough,” he tells Marketing Week.
