HUNDREDS OF VIRGINS READY TO BE TOUCHED
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

New Ad Campaign, By DiMassimo Brand Advertising,
For Crunch Fitness Compares The Purity of An Untouched Facility to That of A Virgin

Chicago, IL, January 21, 2004 – Is there anybody that doesn’t want a virgin – untouched, fresh and waiting to be broken in? Beginning February 9, local Chicago residents are going to have the chance to “pop the cherry” of hundreds of virgins coming to town. No, we’re not talking about sex – but a new ad campaign created by DiMassimo Brand Advertising for the opening of the new Crunch Fitness Super Club at North & Sheffield.

The print ads, on a virgin white background, show a crisp image of a new stair master with bright, contrasting red letters inviting viewers to "Steal My Innocence." Another version of the creative features recumbent cycle along with a tagline that reads, “Virgin.” A third version features the image of a lower back extension machine with text that asks viewers to “Deflower Me.”

“We had an idea to create a pure buzz marketing campaign that would grab people’s attention and deliver a simple, straight-forward message,” explains Mark DiMassimo, founder and creative director at DiMassimo Brand Advertising. “We paired the purity of these images with bold taglines to energize the Crunch Fitness brand in the Chicago market.”

The eye-catching ad campaign, titled “Virgin,” officially breaks on February 1 and will be featured on subway cars and local radio station KISS FM with personality Drex. The campaign will also be featured on window posters in Crunch gyms throughout Chicago. The ads will also run in local Chicago publications, including Chicago Scene, Soak and Chicago Red Streak. Guerilla marketing components include placing the ads on bathrooms posters and beverage coasters in bars and nightclubs, max rack post cards, street teams and direct mail. There will also be an online member invite blast for all Chicago Crunch members. Similar creative executions will be utilized for several new gyms as Crunch continues to open facilities in cities across the country.

“We are thrilled about the new 50,000 square-foot facility and all of its ‘virgin’ equipment,” said Candy Tree, director of marketing and creative director at Crunch. “This highly creative campaign, is our way of inviting the North & Sheffield community to be the first to check out our state-of-the-art flagship club.”

Creative Credits
Agency: DiMassimo Brand Advertising, New York
Client: Crunch Fitness
Title of Campaign: “Virgin”
Creative Director: Mark DiMassimo and Rich Buceta
Art Director: Jon Rosen
Copywriter: Joel Barnard

About Crunch:
Crunch Fitness“ (www.crunch.com) is a bold and vibrant expression of fitness, fashion, music, entertainment and style. Based in New York City, Crunch is one of the premier brands of Bally Total Fitness (NYSE: BFT). With 28 locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and Mission Viejo, Crunch has a philosophy of “no judgements” and an environment that warmly welcomes people from all walks of life, regardless of shape, size, sex or ability. Renowned for fusing fitness and entertainment, Crunch continually changes the way the world looks at exercise, creating programs like “Cardio Striptease”, “Ruff Yoga” and “Cycle Karaoke.” The Crunch brand also incorporates original apparel and accessories for men and women, Crunch Magazine, chart-topping exercise videos, and music compilation CDs.

About DiMassimo Brand Advertising:
DiMassimo is one of the last great independent agencies that hasn't had to merge or close its doors in this time of slashed advertising budgets and fierce competition between industry giants. Instead they remain a true survivor, developing ideas that move business and winning new accounts in the past year including Instinet, Comcast and Pfizer. Additionally, DiMassimo has been able to retain key clients like Crunch and The Plaza Hotel. DiMassimo has survived one of the worst economic down turns in the history of the advertising industry. Additional information can be found at www.dimassimo.com.

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Contacts:

Ian McRae/Karine Ng
Jericho Communications
(212) 645-6900

Stacy Mackler
DiMassimo Brand Advertising
(646) 507-5829
E-mail: smackler@dimassimo.com