This Gym Advertisement Is Using Aliens to Fat Shame People Into Working Out

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This Gym Advertisement Is Using Aliens to Fat Shame People Into Working Out

There are advertisements with subtle fat-shaming undertones. And then there's this billboard ad for a gym in England that's so overtly fat-shaming, it's laughable.

"They're coming... and when they arrive they'll take the FAT ones first," the gym's advertisement, plastered on the side of a convenience store in Derbyshire, read. "Save yourself," it said in the corner above a website address to subscribe to the gym.

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The gym, Fit4Less, told Derby Telegraph that it was simply taking a "lighted-hearted approach" in its advertising and meant no harm, but anti-bullying activist Natalie Harvey was "shocked" when she passed the sign.

"Just this week alone I've had three cases of bullying due to weight issues and I feel campaigns like this aid bullying," Harvey told the Telegraph. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it, it's 2016 – this sort of fat-shaming humor is offensive."

But Jan Spaticchia, the CEO of the gym's parent company, said the fat-shaming alien ad has been successful. "We have found that by taking a lighted-hearted approach we can connect with more people who would enjoy what we have to offer," he told the Telegraph. "It's a little harmless fun."

Spaticchia said the ad will stay put.