A controversial ad for
"I would actually say it's going to have a positive affect on the company's line," said
The
The advertisement, which was released in November but went viral on social media this month, depicts a husband giving his wife a Peloton bike for Christmas. She proceeds to record her exercise journey over the course of a year — first hesitantly joining a live class through the screen on her bike and eventually starting to cycle consistently. At the end, the couple sit on a couch watching a video the wife made of her journey, which concludes: "A year ago, I didn't realize how much this would change me. Thank you."
Critics slammed the ad as sexist, claiming the husband's gift of an exercise machine insinuates that his wife is out of shape.
The video received about 20,000 downvotes and 16,000 thumbs up on Peloton's YouTube channel. Comments under the video were turned off. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Soberman said it's not a bad ad, though it fails to show the true value of the product by not demonstrating clearly what difference it made in the woman's life over the course of the year.
But it doesn't strike Soberman as offensive.
"I think one of the things that actually occurs in social media is that you can get a reaction from people who are not necessarily in your target market," he said, arguing Peloton's target demographic — intense exercise buffs — won't find the spot problematic, but will like it.
This group will recognize fitness isn't just about appearance and weight, he said, but can be measured on many other seemingly invisible metrics, like endurance. They won't be dismayed by an ad in which a thin woman receives a piece of exercise equipment and appears visibly unchanged after a year.
A truly offensive ad, he said, would upset even those within a company's target demographic.
He recalls widespread outrage to a Nivea ad with the phrase: "White is purity." The company apologized and pulled the ad.
The negative response to Peloton's ad seems to be overblown, said
Some of the backlash centres on the gender roles, with the men bestowing the bike to his wife, he said.
But women appear to compose the company's target demographic, Middleton noted, citing the company's other ads and websites that predominantly feature female consumers. So in the context of a holiday advertisement that centres on a gift exchange, it made sense for the woman to receive the present, he said.
"We're trying to incite men to give a gift to their wives or girlfriends," he said.
There's a low level of risk that the backlash will hurt the company, said Middleton. Brands' reputations can be damaged by negative publicity, he said, but in this case, it's likely not a big enough issue.
It could help the company, Middleton added, by generating buzz in the daily news grind and on social media.
"It will put Peloton into people's minds more," he said, adding he can think of a few people in his life who might ask their loved ones if they've seen the ad, while mentioning they wouldn't mind that gift this year.
This report by
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