Angry Gods
Angry Gods is a marketing design company based in Los Angeles.[1] It was founded by Krish Menon, and Gabe Miller serves as executive creative director.[1] Their clients include Equinox, Embark, and others.[2][3] In 2026, they drew controversy for an Equinox ad which was described by Asian content creators as "dehumanizing and sexualizing" toward East Asian women.[4]
History
[edit]Embark
[edit]In 2024, Angry Gods helmed the "Consulting is Dead" campaign for Embark, a business consulting firm. The campaign involved purchasing a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal which proclaimed the death of consulting, as well as sending coffin-shaped boxes to chief financial officers.[5]
Equinox
[edit]In 2026, Angry Gods produced a series of ads for the fitness company Equinox involving images generated by artificial intelligence with the tagline "Question Everything But Yourself," continuing Equinox's tradition of unveiling "provocative and irreverent campaigns" around the New Year.[6][7] Drawing on "public AI memes and internet culture," the idea was envisioned by Angry Gods' executive creative director, Gabe Miller, as well as founder and CEO Krish Menon, while Equinox supplied the insight "that everything is exaggerated, absurd and that there's this contrast of where Equinox plays."[8][1][9] Menon stated that the ads weren't against artificial intelligence itself but rather "just bad use of it."[10] The campaign launched on January 1 and drew attention from various outlets like Adweek and Ad Age, which called it one of the "AI ads of the week."[11][12]
However, several Asian content creators like Eila Park Robertson found some of Angry Gods' images "dehumanizing and sexualizing" toward East Asian women, causing Equinox to pull the ads and issue a public apology.[4] Connecting the sexualization of East Asian women to a longstanding history of hate crimes and war crimes, Robertson stated: "What they callously overlooked was that they put Asian women in harm's way for the shock value...It tells me that our voices, female voices, the safety of women, and our concerns around our safety do not matter to Equinox."[13]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Equinox Questions Everything Except the Human Body in Provocative AI-Led Campaign | LBBOnline". Archived from the original on 2026-01-08. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Only, Subscription (2026-01-06). "Equinox's New Year Campaign Undercuts AI Slop With Human Portraits". Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Embark launches rebrand, 'Consulting is dead' marketing campaign". www.consulting.us. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- 1 2 "Equinox pulls AI ad after creators call out racist Asian stereotypes". adage.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Innovates, Dallas; Seeley, David (2024-04-23). "Dallas-Based Embark Declares 'Consulting is Dead,' Will Send Mini‑Coffins to CFOs Nationwide". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ January 08 2026, Kyle O’Brien. "Equinox and Angry Gods lean into AI discomfort with Question Everything But Yourself". www.campaignlive.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Equinox contrasts AI fakery with real human strength in New Year's campaign". adage.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Campaign Trail: Equinox uses AI to contrast fitness with digital fakery | Marketing Dive". www.marketingdive.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Graham, Megan (2026-01-05). "Why Equinox Leaned on AI Slop in Its New Year's Ad Campaign". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Landman, Beth (2026-01-05). "Equinox to Distract L.A. Drivers With Billboard of Three-Breasted Woman". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Luxury fitness brand Equinox urges you to 'question everything' in an AI world". Marketing-Interactive. 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "AI ads of the week: Brands skewer the slop". adage.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Heinlein, Zane. "Equinox removes ads amid racial controversy | CNN". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.