Creating Les Mills’ Alternative Cheerful Fitness Brand with nice&frank

Continuing from 2023’s ‘Choose Happy’ campaign, featuring Les Mills’ first ‘Happiness Ambassador’, Brett Goldstein, the global fitness brand has partnered again with creative agency nice&frank to introduce the world to its new circuit training class, ‘LES MILLS CEREMONY’.

Directed by Dave Meyers and produced by Lion Media Group, the resulting film is a Louis Armstrong-soundtracked montage of slow motion close-ups, poking fun at the scrunched-up and strained faces of people exercising with a tongue-in-cheek voiceover and song, ‘When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)’.

Deliberately subverting the hyper-aggressive, ‘no pain, no gain’ fitness messaging, the campaign takes inspiration from up-close-and-personal dog portraits, using macro shots to show how both demanding and emotionally fulfilling the training circuit is.

LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with nice&frank creative directors Rob Stone and Patrick Newman to find out more.

LBB> What was the brief for this campaign like from Les Mills? What immediate ideas did you have in mind for the 'CEREMONY' circuit?

Patrick> The brief was interesting because ‘CEREMONY’ is a really demanding class, but Les Mills espouses a feel-good, ‘Choose Happy’ type of fitness spirit. So, for CEREMONY, the question was how does intensity exist next to happiness? 

Ironically enough, the most contradictory questions can lead to good ideas really quickly. We hadn’t even officially been briefed yet when Rob, Laura [Petrucelli, CCO] and I started talking about this idea of, ‘what if we showed people getting absolutely wrecked by this class but the VO said that they looked really, really happy?’.

LBB> Where did the 'dog portraits' inspiration come from? 

Rob and Patrick> Honestly, lots of inspiration like this just comes from the garbage dump of our brains as creatives. There was probably some social post we saw a few years ago that showed these funny close-ups of dogs shaking water off their bodies. It’s the kind of thing that remains mostly forgotten until, boom, it suddenly becomes creatively relevant. 

LBB> The voiceover is cheeky and self-aware - what are some of your favourite lines or moments from writing the script?

Patrick> I really liked the part where I got to flex my nine years of French class when the voiceover goes, ‘Bonjour, Madame Joy’. 

LBB> How did you decide to pair these visuals with Louis Armstrong's music?

Rob and Patrick> We actually started with a different version of the same song and presented it in early creative development rounds as a music-only spot, with the lyrics acting as the VO. We ultimately merged the song and VO versions because we loved the way the singer and narrator interact with each other, which makes the idea feel more complete.

Above: BTS photos from the set

LBB> Were you on set at all? What lessons did you learn from the production process?

Rob and Patrick> A whole bunch of us were on set in LA, including the clients all the way from New Zealand who admirably never once complained about the jet lag. It was especially helpful to have Rob Lee from Les Mills making sure our talent was performing the circuits correctly. We learned if you’re going to do an ad where a bunch of people are working out, it’s important to have a kind-hearted adonis of a man around to gently correct form. 

LBB> What was your favourite part of this project - and equally, what was the hardest challenge you faced? How did you overcome it?

Rob and Patrick> It was really fun having Dave Meyers on to direct. He’s got such a strong visual style that it was really creatively gratifying to see him bring the idea to life on screen. 

The toughest challenge was the timeline. A process that usually takes months was condensed into roughly three weeks from concept to shoot. But we all knew that we had a special idea, so all our respective teams came together in a really collaborative way to stay focused and make decisions quickly.

LBB> How does this new film expand or evolve from your previous work with Les Mills? What are some of the elements that tie the work and the brand's identity together?

Rob and Patrick> Our first work for Les Mills that launched the ‘Choose Happy’ brand platform really positioned us as a cheerful alternative in the fitness market. With the brief for ‘CEREMONY’ being a bit more product-focused, we had to show that this was a next-level circuit training class that will leave you sweaty while still tying in our ‘Choose Happy’ ethos. It was in that friction that our idea was born.