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What do you think of Peloton commercial?


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What do you think of the new Peloton commercial?  

79 members have voted

  1. 1. What do think of Peloton commercial?

    • Generally/mostly positively
      22
    • Generally/mostly neutrally
      39
    • Generally/mostly negatively
      14
    • Are you saying I could be *stuck* in Wichita? ~~~ I'm saying you *are* stuck in Wichita.
      4


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I don’t get the uproar either.  I once asked for a treadmill and appreciated my dh buying one.

I’m really wondering what he could get her that people wouldn’t have an issue with! People can ruin any gift/commercial if they want.

roomba- nope.  She your housewife?!

new clothes - nope ( might mean hers are ugly or not sexy enough)

jewelry- nope.  Too defining as a woman.

food- nope.  She too skinny?  Doesn’t eat right?

games- nope.  You obviously think she fritters her day away.

Anything for the kitchen or house-nope. See roomba.

a new car- nope.  You’re saying she doesn’t care about the environment?!

a bike- you’re saying she’s fat

a card- your husband is cheap.

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I hadn't watched the commercial. The internet started bombarding me with peloton ads right after we bought a new spin bike, so I've ignored them all. (Sunny Pro, way less expensive, but not all the bells and whistles!) Their algorithm is a bit silly. Why would I buy another exercise bike when I just bought one?

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My dd is studying advertising, and a professor explained why the ad does not work. Basically the woman is making a video diary for her husband, but we assume the role of the husband as we watch what she records. Her shots are awkward and are obvious that she could not get those shots of herself. The woman looks uncomfortable most of the time, etc... 

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IDK. I have a couple of friends who jumped on the Peloton bandwagon a couple of years ago and they both are obsessed.  They post about it on social media to an obnoxious degree.  They brag about recent physicals.  It's very much like this commercial.

The gin commercial though, loved it.  Everyone over 40 has been one of those three people at some point.

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32 minutes ago, lmrich said:

My dd is studying advertising, and a professor explained why the ad does not work. Basically the woman is making a video diary for her husband, but we assume the role of the husband as we watch what she records. Her shots are awkward and are obvious that she could not get those shots of herself. The woman looks uncomfortable most of the time, etc... 

But it did work. According to the linked People video, Peloton’s stock went up by over 4%!

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I didn’t know there was an uproar so came at this post cold.  I watched the commercial and couldn’t figure out what the problem was.  I tried reading what the problem was in the article, but it didn’t say until waaaay at the end of it.  The posted article assumed the reader already knew what was wrong.

By the time I figured out what was wrong with the commercial, it was a complete let down.  

When I watched it all I thought was, “Oh she wanted one of those expensive treadmills and was a bit dramatic about starting her new routine and then got strong and in shape by the end.”  

People being upset with it are being dramatic and looking for devils behind doorknobs.  (Meaning looking for problems that aren’t there.)

Edited by Garga
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25 minutes ago, Thatboyofmine said:

The weird part to me was the ending.   I can’t imagine my husband sitting there through a ridiculous video of me on a stationary bike and be able to keep a straight face.  And I’m guessing that was his gift?? Her thanks for last year’s gift was his present for this year?  Oh and she set the ‘thank you’ to music.  I guess the music was part of the gift.   He’s the one who should be offended:  he bought her a $2k+ bike and got a thank you set to music.  

That's because they're still paying off the Peloton. They can't afford gifts this year. 

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1 hour ago, sassenach said:

Weird to some age groups, not to others. I mean, Snapchat is basically just an ongoing video log. 

I mean, I am not a video blogger, but I understand the concept.  But the way it’s done in that commercial, with the husband being the apparent audience...  I don’t know.  Just strange.  

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Before there was an uproar, I thought it silly that she was vlogging the whole thing. And scared about getting on a bike.....I mean, if you are spending $2K on a stationary bike, I assume you are fit enough to not be nervous about the idea. So that always seemed silly to me. 

And then that she gave the vlog to her husband as his gift a year later......equally silly. Maybe more silly, honestly. 

So it always seemed cheesy to me. Not horrible that he got her an exercise bike, and not even especially odd that she was thin/fit already (again, I don't think of a Peloton as a thing you get to try to lose weight, but a thing an already fitness buff might get to have a more challenging/convenient/weather proof at home work out....), both of which I've seen as reasons to be outraged since the uproar. 

A cheesy, silly ad, though....yes. 

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1 hour ago, EKS said:

People just like to be mad.  There is nothing wrong with that commercial.

yup.  A friend has labeled this the Age of Anger & Offense.  We get so offended by anything.  But, then trolls... they live to create drama out of nothing. 

Cynically, I did wonder if it was a marketing ploy.  Create drama with some well placed offended trolls.... and instant popularity.  I'd never heard of the company before

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I think the only part that could maybe be improved was where she thanked him. I wonder if he had said something like, "It was all you, doing the work!" or something like that, it might be better. 

It just plays to men needing a gift and hoping it will make their wives happy. 

I think it is nice and I don't see it as infantilizing her (he is her caretaker) or patriarchal or anything the least bit offensive.

I think you could be disturbed by the gin commercial. She needs to drink heavily to cope w being married to an ahole? 🙄

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I really don't care about the add, but overall, I'm hard to offend. Advertising is about reaching their audience.  They got MILLIONS in free advertising at Christmas from this. Maybe they were the ones who started the complaint in the beginning to get movement on social media?  Something that could be considered mildly offensive, but  just enough so to spur social media chatter.  LOL could have all been planned and just been brilliant advertising LOL  

BTW....love the gin ad. That truly was brilliant! 

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I think the ad was odd just because the woman seemed so fearful.  Maybe they chose the wrong actress or she was badly directed.  If she had seemed really happy to receive the gift and delighted by her progress throughout, then there would have been nothing to question.  Instead she seemed distressed all the way through and then only happy to have been 'changed'. Perhaps the advert makers were trying for too much of an arc, and the distress came over too strongly.  It's not anywhere near the top of my outrage list though.

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I think the people who find it insulting perhaps don't understand what the Peloton bike is - I have friends who exercise at home (can't find the time or money to go to spin classes) who would be thrilled with the bike and it's expensive program. Maybe the actress's fear thing is a bit silly and overplayed - if you can't keep up with the online class, you can just turn it off. It isn't like an in-person class where the peer pressure is right beside you. But maybe that is the point of the commercial - trying to convince the watcher that with the Peloton, you will feel like you are right there in a class. Again, I know people who go to various exercise classes, rather than workout at home, who say that in-person is the only way they stay motivated.

The uproar seemed like an over-reaction, reading too much into the ad.

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2 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I think the ad was odd just because the woman seemed so fearful.  Maybe they chose the wrong actress or she was badly directed.  If she had seemed really happy to receive the gift and delighted by her progress throughout, then there would have been nothing to question.  Instead she seemed distressed all the way through and then only happy to have been 'changed'. Perhaps the advert makers were trying for too much of an arc, and the distress came over too strongly.  It's not anywhere near the top of my outrage list though.

This is what I thought. She came across fearful throughout, and at the end, while she was watching her husband watch the video, she looked like a battered wife, trying to please the guy and hoping this would make him stop hitting her. My husband thought the same.  It was all overdone. A few seconds of setup in the beginning, in which she expressed desire to have some exercise equipment, get fit, etc might have helped. 

I am not outraged about it. But I thought it was very poorly done. 

 

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9 hours ago, TheReader said:

And then that she gave the vlog to her husband as his gift a year later......equally silly.

This is where I’ve been hearing the uproar. He gives the gift “that gives back”. What he gets back is a hotter wife bc she’s been working out for a year.  I’m not going to watch the ad so I’m not sure if that interpretation is correct, but that what I’m hearing about as far as the outrage.  

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Much ado about nothing. People today are on the lookout for things to be offended and outraged by. It's silly. If the issue is that she looked "fearful" (I think she had a weird pained look myself), then that's a failing of the director and the actress herself. I seriously doubt that the director instructed her to act like a abused wife. Seriously. Monday morning quarterbacking of advertising is nothing new. You can write or produce an ad that sells lots of product, and people will still pick it apart. Similarly, you can write or produce an ad that everybody from the creative team to the marketing manager to the company president absolutely loves and--when it fails--everybody will suddenly "know" it was a loser from the get-go.

Nonsense like this is why I'm so over giving headspace to the outrage du jour in the news. (Of course, the fact that I'm dealing with significant problems in real life may have something to do with it as well.)

 

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43 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

I think it’s a dumb commercial.  “I didn’t know how much this would change me”

🤔

I didn’t see any change.  Like, the blogging didn’t show how she can now hike farther or how she is in some way actually healthier, and there’s certainly no change in her appearance.  

So it’s dumb.  

 

On a a separate note, one of the dumbest things about all peloton commercials (which are as hard to miss as perfume and car commercials this time of year, they are EVERYWHERE!) is how they are all in front of some giant picture window.   Why do the commercials always show these bikes set up right in front of giant windows?  Do people generally prefer to work out in front of huge windows or something?

 

I think it's always an aspirational modern home.  Like if you buy this $2k bike and workout every day for a year in a year you'll triple your salary and move into a $4 million dollar modern house with mostly glass walls too!

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I’ll be honest. I wish I had video logged my weight loss efforts this past year. It would have honestly been something I cherished to have. Unfortunately I was too self conscious about my fat and 5am looks to ever have given it a real thought.  I have had a seriously horrible 3-7 years and doing this was a great thing for my health and mentality but there’s no memory book for this kind of thing.   Which is a damn shame.  I had friends who drove across town to walk with me at 5am or 10pm. You don’t know how much of your life is food you shouldn’t eat until every one of your friends make a concerted effort to do non-food things with you without ever commenting about it. There were a lot of meals I didn’t eat with my family that weren’t unhappy as some would think. And yeah. Going from a size 18 to a 6/8 is a huge visual too.  But that doesn’t show the mental change.  And it does affect marriage. I don’t know about you ladies but when my husband thinks “exercise” at 5am - he sure as heck isn’t planning to leave the bed. It might surprise you to know many husbands are not supportive. 

I loved the gin commercial too.  LOL

I’ll admit my favorite commercial is the one with the older and obviously less well to do or glamorous looking woman on the elliptical. (It’s not peloton but I can’t remember it.)

But if they want to make one that reflects MY reality?

A good pair of sneakers and predawn or late night walks. Lots and lots of them. And Fitbit. 

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Peloton workouts can be really challenging.  That is why she looked slightly apprehensive.  

So a husband who buys a really great quality piece of equipment for his wife is abusive now? Sheesh. Maybe he wants her to enjoy working out because he loves her so much he wants her around for a while. Doesn't loving someone mean supporting their health? Ugh. I. can't. stand. people twisting good and making it about selfisness and controlling when it isn't about that at.all. 

Edited by Chris in VA
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I think some of the ire might be because people see a woman like that and think she doesn’t have to work to stay looking like that.  And sure many don’t, I never had to until about 37ish. But even once the weight is lost, I have to keep working just as hard to keep it off. 

But if I thought she looks like she would be unhealthy if she lost more weight, and I viewed exercise purpose as purely weight loss, then yeah I guess my big concern would be why push that image of women having to gratefully sacrifice their health to make their husband  be happy with them?

I’d like to know her motivation for the work. If she’s doing it for him, which is does kinda seem that way, then I’m not opposed but I think they could do better for women. Maybe show her crossing the finish line at a marathon she wanted to run for a cause or something? Idk. 🤷‍♀️
 

I agree with the marketing comment above. The purpose and angle of the camera were confusing to me. Didn’t make me angry or anything. I just wasn’t expecting it to be a gift to her husband. That was weird. 

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21 minutes ago, happysmileylady said:

Oh is that how that works?!?!?🤣

I think the math on that might say otherwise lol

If the Peloton commercial showed any kind of change like this it might make more sense to me.  But it's not like that at all.  

And congrats on all your hard work!  

That is because they didn’t have an actual year to make the commercial.

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27 minutes ago, Katy said:

 

I think it's always an aspirational modern home.  Like if you buy this $2k bike and workout every day for a year in a year you'll triple your salary and move into a $4 million dollar modern house with mostly glass walls too!

What’s funny is my only friend that has a Peloton basically has a multimillion dollar house with floor to ceiling windows. They know their market. 
 

(this friend is also the nicest person I have met in my entire life and super humble and normal, so the above is not a value judgement)

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Just now, Scarlett said:

That is because they didn’t have an actual year to make the commercial.


I disagree.   They seriously couldn’t find ANYONE using their product that would be willing to log in progress for a year and of those someones, find any they could get permission to video collage for a commercial? If so, then their program is beyond rubbish.

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4 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:


I disagree.   They seriously couldn’t find ANYONE using their product that would be willing to log in progress for a year and of those someones, find any they could get permission to video collage for a commercial? If so, then their program is beyond rubbish.

Well, sure but that would have been a long project....it would be a good project though.  

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I gotta tell ya ladies. 

I’ve been getting up at 5am with the goal of getting 8-10 miles of walking into 6/7 days for over a year and eating Whole30 compliant. At no point have I ever woken up and cheerfully greeted my morning walk like it was a great present I was excited to receive.  Being apprehensive about doing hard things is okay. 

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12 hours ago, Katy said:

The gin commercial though, loved it.  Everyone over 40 has been one of those three people at some point.

Neber heard of the bike or the ad until this post. I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary  about it. Most ads are cheesy or weird, aren't they?

I'm over 40 & could not empathize with the gin ad at all. Perhaps because I've never been friends with people who drink? When my friends have a tough time, it has unfortunately been a death in the family & we gather to pray & hug at their home. A bar? Encouraging our friend to get sloshed? Not my reality. But, I'm not offended--just not a fan.

Note: We have no TV access so the only ads I see on a regular basis are the ones on YouTube that I can't block & the ones on Duolingo if I want to earn more XP.

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27 minutes ago, Murphy101 said:

I think some of the ire might be because people see a woman like that and think she doesn’t have to work to stay looking like that.  And sure many don’t, I never had to until about 37ish. But even once the weight is lost, I have to keep working just as hard to keep it off. 

But if I thought she looks like she would be unhealthy if she lost more weight, and I viewed exercise purpose as purely weight loss, then yeah I guess my big concern would be why push that image of women having to gratefully sacrifice their health to make their husband  be happy with them?

I’d like to know her motivation for the work. If she’s doing it for him, which is does kinda seem that way, then I’m not opposed but I think they could do better for women. Maybe show her crossing the finish line at a marathon she wanted to run for a cause or something? Idk. 🤷‍♀️
 

I agree with the marketing comment above. The purpose and angle of the camera were confusing to me. Didn’t make me angry or anything. I just wasn’t expecting it to be a gift to her husband. That was weird. 

Y'all all need to go watch Brittany Runs a Marathon on Prime.  It is amazing. 

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1 hour ago, Chris in VA said:

Peloton workouts can be really challenging.  That is why she looked slightly apprehensive.  

So a husband who buys a really great quality piece of equipment for his wife is abusive now? Sheesh. Maybe he wants her to enjoy working out because he loves her so much he wants her around for a while. Doesn't loving someone mean supporting their health? Ugh. I. can't. stand. people twisting good and making it about selfisness and controlling when it isn't about that at.all. 

What? No one said that (unless I missed it). The OP asked what we thought of an advertisement, not about giving exercise equipment as a gift.  

 

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I keep hearing about it but didn't have time to check it out until just now (OP link).  As ads go, it's no better or worse than most. 

People with time on their hands could do a pretty interesting analysis on why, to some people, this was worth the time and effort to make a stink about it.  Maybe some people need a job, a hobby, or a stocked broom closet for Christmas.  😛

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