The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024–2025
Tonal's 'Stop Working Out in the Past' makes old workouts absurd — One Show 2025 Gold
A black-and-white Victorian film shows fitness as brutal anvil-banging labour, so Tonal's AI home gym becomes the escape to the future — One Show 2025 Gold.
Tonal
What it had to solve
Tonal, a premium AI-powered home strength trainer, faced a market crowded with gyms, apps and equipment, and needed to break through during the holiday season and ahead of the Tonal 2 launch in Q1 2025.
How it works
Tonal's 'Power Progress' campaign opened with a woman running through a black-and-white Victorian world where people work out by banging anvils, lifting iron kettlebells, riding penny-farthing bicycles and rowing old-time boats. The tagline told viewers what to do: 'Stop working out in the past.'
Directed by Aube Perrie and scored by Atticus Ross, the two-minute, dialogue-free film was shot in Bucharest with 150 period-dressed extras and one of only three specialised Alexa cameras able to capture the monochrome look. When the heroine escapes into Tonal's home gym, the world turns to colour — the future of fitness.
The campaign ran on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook during the industry's peak holiday season. Sales finished 200% above projections and up 32% year on year, social engagement rose 2,000%, and the launch set the stage for Tonal 2 in Q1 2025. One Show 2025 gave the work a Gold Pencil.
Why it lands
- Juxtaposing absurd Victorian labour made the modern product the obvious hero without a single feature claim.
- Black-and-white craft gave a premium brand feel that stood out from colourful fitness ads.
- A single strong film cut into 90/30/15-second versions let one idea carry every channel.
- Timing the push to Black Friday's peak demand amplified the campaign's effect on sales.
What it did
Sales ran 200% above projections over the holiday period and rose 32% year on year, with a 2,000% jump in social engagement; One Show 2025 awarded the campaign a Gold Pencil in Moving Image Craft & Production.
What you can take
Contrast can sell without claims: casting the old way as absurd makes the new product feel like the future, and a premium black-and-white aesthetic did the positioning work.
Since then
The campaign established 'Power Progress' as Tonal's long-term brand platform, with Quality Experience installed as creative agency of record, and Tonal 2 launched in Q1 2025 on the back of the repositioning. One Show 2025 awarded 'Stop Working Out in the Past' a Gold Pencil in Moving Image Craft & Production.
Sources
- Tonal | Stop Working Out in the Past — The One Show
- When Exercise Was Hard Labor: Tonal Spotlights Old-Timey Fitness
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