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The Gift That Gives Back | Peloton Bike Commercial

When ads backfire - what went wrong with THAT Peloton spot?

Indoor bike brand's Christmas campaign got the internet buzzing - but not in the way it planned...
by Simon_MacMichael
Tue, Dec 03, 2019 21:55
32

Picture the pitch for Peloton’s Holiday ad as a Madison Avenue advertising executive outlines the plot to the indoor bike brand’s marketing chiefs … On Christmas morning, a mother is led downstairs by her little girl to find her present from her husband waiting – a Peloton exercise bike; over the ensuing months as she pedals away, she films herself and surprises him with a video she has put together showing how much she’s enjoying the gift.

Heartwarming stuff, yes? Well, that’s not quite how the internet saw it. The video has been mercilessly deconstructed and the piss-taking has been relentless – you’ll find some of the best on our live blog.

There’s a particularly vicious takedown here on USA Today, which reflects a lot of the reaction to the 30-second spot, and the fact the husband apparently couldn’t even be arsed to stick so much as a bow on the bike is the least of it.

Setting aside the not-so-subtle message a man might be sending his wife by buying her an exercise bike of all things for Christmas, the woman’s face as she prepares to use the bike for the first time is a picture.

A picture not of delight, but rather a mixture of Brad Pitt’s face when he opens THAT box in Seven, and Emma Thompson’s in Love Actually when she realises her husband has given her a CD rather than the jewellery she had been expecting (the intended recipient of which is a much younger work colleague).

It’s almost as though the actress is fighting to contain her own reaction had she received a similar gift from her own partner.

Then, there’s the apparently sleepless nights, the relentless riding, the constant filming and finally the almost dutiful presentation of the video as she gratefully shows him that his $2,000 hasn’t gone to waste.

Of course, the unsaid premise to the ad could be that the woman had been dropping not-so-subtle hints to her husband that this is exactly what she wanted for Christmas, though if that is the case, it wasn't communicated.

But if the intended target market is men, to give them an alternative gift suggestion to, say, a Tiffany bracelet or a Louis Vuitton handbag, before parting with their cash they might be advised to consider this take on the ad from online comedian Eva Victor, best known for her Fleabag spoof which went viral earlier this year, and which suggests it could end up costing them way more than two grand.

Peloton
advertising
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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32 comments

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
1 like

I might get my wife one of these as we don't have room in our penthouse suite for a static one:

 

 

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
2 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

I might get my wife one of these as we don't have room in our penthouse suite for a static one:

 

 

buy a new penthouse then, cheapskate, and this time make sure it's plenty roomy

 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to ConcordeCX | 5 years ago
1 like
ConcordeCX wrote:
hawkinspeter wrote:

I might get my wife one of these as we don't have room in our penthouse suite for a static one:

buy a new penthouse then, cheapskate, and this time make sure it's plenty roomy

But it's so tedious moving - we'd have to fire our maid and then get our butler to hire a new one.

 

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
2 likes

At least she looks really happy and not like a prisoner at all.

 

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Stebbo | 5 years ago
3 likes

The ad is rather toe curling, but not that bad.

Peloton is rather expensive. £1500 for the bike plus £40 a month subs.  
My gym membership is £48 a month and I can do spin every day if I wish plus any of the other 60 plus classes a week. It also has a weights room pool steam room etc etc and discount in the Hotel bar. Plus it's nice to meet people 

 

 

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to Stebbo | 5 years ago
4 likes
Stebbo wrote:

The ad is rather toe curling, but not that bad.

Peloton is rather expensive. £1500 for the bike plus £40 a month subs.  
My gym membership is £48 a month and I can do spin every day if I wish plus any of the other 60 plus classes a week. It also has a weights room pool steam room etc etc and discount in the Hotel bar. Plus it's nice to meet people 

 

 

I get paid to have an idiot shouting at me all day to work harder. All I have to do is go to the office.

 

Avatar
Rik Mayals unde... | 5 years ago
6 likes

I'm going to buy my wife a pair of slippers and a Rampant Rabbit for Christmas. If she doesn't like the slippers, then she can go and fuck herself.

Avatar
50kcommute | 5 years ago
1 like

This company reminds me of a challenge on the apprentice... Exercise +plus ipad + aspirational lifestyle + beautiful people... Now sell.

Before it gets consigned to the pages of history I'll keep being amused hy this Co... And the VC going down he drain.

Avatar
50kcommute | 5 years ago
0 likes

This company reminds me of a challenge on the apprentice... Exercise +plus ipad + aspirational lifestyle + beautiful people... Now sell.

Before it gets consigned to the pages of history I'll keep being amused hy this Co... And the VC going down he drain.

Avatar
vonhelmet | 5 years ago
1 like

Friends don't let friends watch adverts. They are all stupid.

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Rick_Rude | 5 years ago
0 likes

SEXISM!!!!! (good looking women on TV or using their looks in some way that is maybe empowering to them)

Maybe some women like exercise, keeping fit and looking good? My wife would probably like a peloton bike as she goes to spin classes but she can buy her own!

I seem to remember the sexism being removed from a number of sports and women formerly employed weren't too happy about their job loss. Smacks of jealousy to me and believing you represent the world view.

Men are now portrayed as complete fat idiots now, sitting on a sofa with bowl of cornflakes on their heads in most adverts so I think the world is in balance.

Avatar
Mungecrundle replied to Rick_Rude | 5 years ago
2 likes
Rick_Rude wrote:

Men are now portrayed as complete fat idiots now, sitting on a sofa with bowl of cornflakes on their heads.

Speaking for my own household that is pretty much in line with reality, though "slumped on the sofa" would be more accurate.

Avatar
Compact Corned Beef replied to Rick_Rude | 5 years ago
1 like
Rick_Rude wrote:

Men are now portrayed as complete fat idiots now, sitting on a sofa with bowl of cornflakes on their heads in most adverts so I think the world is in balance.

This is 100% more accurate than the smooth-jawed buff wonders in Gillette ads. At least in my case.

Avatar
The_Vermonter | 5 years ago
1 like

Hostage eyes the whole time. I expected her to start blinking "HELP" in Morse code.

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EddyBerckx | 5 years ago
1 like

It's a cheesy as hell ad and nothing more. 

 

She's super thin anyway so why is it fat shaming? Maybe in pretend ad land she has been dropping hints for months she wants it? 3 10

 

My friend once bought an exercise bike for his partner for xmas as 'she's getting a bit chubby' - still makes me laugh to this day. Definitely an example of fat shaming! 3 (never bothered asking what her reaction was...)

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
6 likes

Any gift can be interpreted negatively if that is what you want to do.

Here, I bought you a tiffany bracelet.
Does this mean;

- I love you and thought you would like it.
- I own you.
- I want people to know I'm rich enough to waste money on jewellery.
- You look like a pig, but at least you are now a gilded pig.
- I couldn't be arsed to think of a more imaginative present.
- I was desperate for a last minute gift and happened to be passing the shop.
- I feel guilty for shagging that prostitute (who cost more than the bracelet).

Avatar
webbierwrex | 5 years ago
1 like

I did the same, I showed it to my partner before telling her why I was showing it to her. She basically said it was a bit of a cheesy advert but nothing more. I asked if she was offended by it and she said no. 

I've bought plenty of sporty presents for her in the past, some at her request and some because I thought she'd like them, do I have to take them all back? Am I only allowed to buy jewelry and dresses (which she'd hate)?  

I think it's incredibly sexists to assume that under no circumstances would the wife want this bike and it MUST have been because the husband wants her to lose weight. 

Avatar
Rick_Rude | 5 years ago
2 likes

Not sure what some people on Twitter's problem is with this ad. Some are saying it's fat shaming and promoting an unhealthy body image. No doubt these people are fatties with a fear of exercise. Surely the whole point of spending this much on a spin bike is to use it to get ultra fit and lose some weight not look like some blue-haired slob that keeps their genetics in the fridge as triffles and cakes.

Avatar
Compact Corned Beef | 5 years ago
5 likes

I don’t think they’re knocking the product, just the advert, which is.... well, a bit shit, really, and another example of the ‘peloton bike in extraordinarily unlikely settings’ as collected in a famous twitter thread. It’s just so wanky. Conversely the recent Wattbike adverts I’ve seen on YouTube are much more exciting.

Avatar
handlebarcam | 5 years ago
4 likes

Long before he made Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker was explaining precisely how such unappealing slabs of mulch are shat out of the bin bag of corporate marketing.

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kil0ran | 5 years ago
4 likes

Hey, at least she can reach down and give that big red knob a firm twist

Avatar
jnthnwd | 5 years ago
4 likes

If only she could replace the handlebars with an ironing board-her life would be complete.

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Jetmans Dad | 5 years ago
4 likes

Hmm ... at my wife's request I have bought her a treadmill and Zwift Footpod for Christmas. 

Maybe she was just angling for a divorce all along. 

:o(

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Biggie Smells | 5 years ago
9 likes

Any chance road.cc could stop putting 'THAT' in article headlines? It's a straight lift from the Daily Reich. Not sure you want to be associated with the UK's premier right leaning waste of trees.

Avatar
PRSboy | 5 years ago
1 like

Disappointingly, comments in the YouTube upload are turned off.  However, likes 422, dislikes 5500 sums it up.

To think someone at Peloton actually signed that off...

Amazingly, Peloton shares are up 43% since IPO so clearly we are all wrong.

Avatar
bigbiker101 replied to PRSboy | 5 years ago
3 likes
PRSboy wrote:

Disappointingly, comments in the YouTube upload are turned off.  However, likes 422, dislikes 5500 sums it up.

To think someone at Peloton actually signed that off...

Amazingly, Peloton shares are up 43% since IPO so clearly we are all wrong.

I think most people who comment on Peloton have never tried it, its actaully very good if you want to do a spinning class workout, it's target isn't cyclist like most people on this site, but gym folk who want to do spin at home, I think the PC brigade has gone overboard on this ad, maybe his wife asked for one, I bought my wife a road bike for Chistmas and she loved it, not one person decided I was saying she was fat or unfit, whats the difference ?

Avatar
PRSboy replied to bigbiker101 | 5 years ago
1 like
bigbiker101 wrote:
PRSboy wrote:

Disappointingly, comments in the YouTube upload are turned off.  However, likes 422, dislikes 5500 sums it up.

To think someone at Peloton actually signed that off...

Amazingly, Peloton shares are up 43% since IPO so clearly we are all wrong.

I think most people who comment on Peloton have never tried it, its actaully very good if you want to do a spinning class workout, it's target isn't cyclist like most people on this site, but gym folk who want to do spin at home, I think the PC brigade has gone overboard on this ad, maybe his wife asked for one, I bought my wife a road bike for Chistmas and she loved it, not one person decided I was saying she was fat or unfit, whats the difference ?

I think you're right.  I showed the ad to my other half, who couldn't see what the fuss was about.  Lots of people are making it their business to be offended on behalf of other people.

The girl in the ad has big brown doe-eyes which I think has brought out the protective instinct in people!

Avatar
Velomark replied to PRSboy | 5 years ago
1 like
PRSboy wrote:
bigbiker101 wrote:
PRSboy wrote:

Disappointingly, comments in the YouTube upload are turned off.  However, likes 422, dislikes 5500 sums it up.

To think someone at Peloton actually signed that off...

Amazingly, Peloton shares are up 43% since IPO so clearly we are all wrong.

I think most people who comment on Peloton have never tried it, its actaully very good if you want to do a spinning class workout, it's target isn't cyclist like most people on this site, but gym folk who want to do spin at home, I think the PC brigade has gone overboard on this ad, maybe his wife asked for one, I bought my wife a road bike for Chistmas and she loved it, not one person decided I was saying she was fat or unfit, whats the difference ?

I think you're right.  I showed the ad to my other half, who couldn't see what the fuss was about.  Lots of people are making it their business to be offended on behalf of other people.

The girl in the ad has big brown doe-eyes which I think has brought out the protective instinct in people!

Exaclty, the main criticism seems to be that the husband is suggesting she needs to lose weight  even though she clearly doesnt need to - Talk about people projecting their own issues onto a situation! Maybe shes a runner who has to give it up due to an injury and thats why she looks so good already. Other criticism was that the house looks like a dream house and not very realistic fo most of us.... Have these people ever seen any other Ad before????

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to Velomark | 5 years ago
2 likes
Velomark wrote:
PRSboy wrote:
bigbiker101 wrote:
PRSboy wrote:

Disappointingly, comments in the YouTube upload are turned off.  However, likes 422, dislikes 5500 sums it up.

To think someone at Peloton actually signed that off...

Amazingly, Peloton shares are up 43% since IPO so clearly we are all wrong.

I think most people who comment on Peloton have never tried it, its actaully very good if you want to do a spinning class workout, it's target isn't cyclist like most people on this site, but gym folk who want to do spin at home, I think the PC brigade has gone overboard on this ad, maybe his wife asked for one, I bought my wife a road bike for Chistmas and she loved it, not one person decided I was saying she was fat or unfit, whats the difference ?

I think you're right.  I showed the ad to my other half, who couldn't see what the fuss was about.  Lots of people are making it their business to be offended on behalf of other people.

The girl in the ad has big brown doe-eyes which I think has brought out the protective instinct in people!

Exaclty, the main criticism seems to be that the husband is suggesting she needs to lose weight  even though she clearly doesnt need to - Talk about people projecting their own issues onto a situation! Maybe shes a runner who has to give it up due to an injury and thats why she looks so good already. Other criticism was that the house looks like a dream house and not very realistic fo most of us.... Have these people ever seen any other Ad before????

Surprisingly enough, I have. And therefore I'm aware of the difference between well-made attempts at manipulation by adverts and one that is rather naff in its clunky lack of subtlety. That the ads are so crude and obvious in that respect, to me, says something about their target demographic (unless the ads turn out not to be effective, implying that demographic is smarter than that, and they are just bad ads).

What puzzles me is the defensiveness about mockery of the adverts from some. Is it that you identify with the marketing and hence take the criticism personally?

The refusal to see sexism even when it's obvious doesn't surprise me- conservative people are just hyper-defensive about that. I don't think anyone is saying the ad is deeply offensive and should be banned, they are just mocking it for the lack of awareness it shows as to how many women would perceive it.

Avatar
franta replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 5 years ago
0 likes
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

The refusal to see sexism even when it's obvious doesn't surprise me ...

Are you saying that this ad is sexist ?

If so, could you please explain why specifically this ad is particularly sexist ?

I understand the bit about using a beautyful woman to sell a product but I feel that there is more to it.

Thanks.

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