Tonal's Epic, Cinematic Ad Is a Departure for the Fitness Category

The campaign, from agency Quality Experience, pulls from indie auteurs and urges customers to ditch archaic workouts

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Tonal, a smart home gym looking for a holiday sales boost, has dropped an epic long-form commercial shot entirely in black and white and set in the Victorian era.

A major departure for the fitness category—with inspiration coming from classic sports marketing and indie auteurs like Michel Gondry—Tonal’s 2-minute hero ad contrasts its pricey tech-enabled product with the crude kettle bells, battle ropes, and dandy horse bicycles of yore.

The message: This ain’t your ancestor’s workout.

The campaign, dubbed “Future of Fitness,” comes from Quality Experience, a newly formed agency that recently debuted its inaugural effort, “Make Something That Means Something” for Shutterfly.

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