Fitness group ‘Equinox’ defends their image of a glamorous breastfeeding mother

Question: if you were planning on getting back to the gym this year, and really wanted to commit to your workout programme, would you be motivated by this promotional photo? Personally? I would, and not only do I LOVE the campaign - a series of pics accompanied by the hashtag #CommitToSomething - I'm also tempted to up sticks, move to the States, join the gym and become best mates with the creative team forever. The power of marketing, eh? Suffice to say that some Facebook users are not as enamoured as I am with the concept and have been airing their views very loudly on the Equinox Facebook page Unfazed, the responses from the Fitness Group are nothing short of magic, and I'm WAY too much fun reading them in the office today. Here are a few examples of the conversations that are taking place:

"This model is not breastfeeding (she's not even lactating) she's shoving her breasts in two babies' mouths. Sorry this is weird. Use a real mother who is breastfeeding not pretending to breastfeed then you have a point, Equinox. Hopefully your next ad will be a mother committed to bottle feeding as we all know that's sooo taboo" - Jessica Borges Kaufman "All the real nursing mothers were busy nursing" - Equinox

"What a horrible and ridiculous ad from a gym and the point is commitment!!!? Bad taste to say the least!" - Renata Caprioglio "Bad taste? The milk is as fresh as it gets" - Equinox   "If you can afford Equinox you can commit to a sitter" - Catherine Marie "Families that dine together, stay together" - Equinox

Of course, not everyone was outraged and showed strong support for the photo and the intended message behind it;

"That's disgusting! I mean for real, what the heck is that on her plate?!" - Tami Rivera "We see what you did there" - Equinox

"This is the best ad I've ever seen. I wish I lived in America so I could thank you personally. Bravo. Very clever marketing!" - Tarquin Roberts "We'll take that international love" - Equinox

"I want to be the person replying with hilarious comebacks under Equinox's account" - Jessica Aguilar "We'll let you know if we need backup" - Equinox

What do you think of the ad campaign, love it or hate it? Join the conversation on Twitter #HerFamChats