A lot has been made of a recent Peloton holiday ad, depicting a husband gifting his wife a Peloton bike for Christmas and her subsequent year-long video diary. Daily news outlets and late night talkshows have all had something to say. While some ads are intentional about walking social or political tightropes hoping the virality of their stance garners additional exposure, this certainly doesn’t seem like the case for Peloton. It’s a rather common, if not mundane and cheesy holiday ad promoting a fitness product. So why all the added attention? Let’s look at it from a few angles.
The nature of television advertising is to create a compelling piece of content in a very short window. Often brands will try to tell a story within 15 seconds to a minute, eliciting some sort of emotion, subtly (or not) detailing product information, and including some sort of call to action. Not a lot of time to do all that, let alone build a backstory for the actors and actresses, so if we really want to dig deeper, we are left to assume certain things. The writing and direction also steer the impression an ad can have on the audience. And if you aren't in the target audience, nearly any advertisement can seem silly or misguided or stupid or irrelevant. In the case of this ad, there are a lot of assumptions making their way around the internet, from the husband-wife relationship to the gift’s intent to the “submissive” glances to the actress’ physique and portrayed personality. It’s just as easy to assume the wife had previously mentioned wanting this specific product to her husband as it is he's sending her a signal to lose weight. Or to assume that she is proud of what she accomplished over a year of improved cycling fitness which she wants to literally show her husband in appreciation of the gift, as opposed to a woman longing for her domineering husband’s approval. You could assume any number of things because there is so little actual content in ad spots and these assumptions are merely thin slices of judgment based on our own perceptions or experiences or environments. We are currently living in an environment of justifiably heightened awareness and sensitivity to body image and female empowerment which is likely the main reason for the amount of chatter. I also believe the assumptions and reactions here are likely to be impacted by two specific things.
Relationship to Exercise
For transparency, I'm an endurance athlete and I fully understand I’m different than many people when it comes to my enjoyment of exercise. I don't expect others to have the same thoughts and feelings about the ad as I did when I first saw it. Personally, I would be psyched if my wife got me a Peloton bike or treadmill. I run, ride, swim and generally love to be active so a gift that would feed into that area of my life would be a much appreciated gesture. If finding the time and energy to work out regularly was the bane of my existence, the same couldn't be said. Would the woman in the commercial have been as excited about a $180 pair of running shoes or a $50 yoga mat? Maybe we are to assume the woman in the ad feels the same way as me; which is to say that not everything related to exercise is about weight loss. I wouldn’t take that gift as a nudge (or shove) to lose weight, but I could also infer that my wife would rather have me exercising around the house more often with our two young kids as opposed to remotely at the gym or cycling outdoors. And I say that realizing I am fortunate to have a positive relationship to exercise and the aesthetic results it can provide, though I’m aware body shaming is certainly more prevalent toward females than males. Would my wife feel the same way if I bought it for her? While she doesn’t have the same relationship to exercise as I do, she is active and we’ve previously discussed having an option like Peloton. I genuinely think she would appreciate it just the same, mostly for the unquestionable convenience that realistically could be “life changing” as expressed in the ad. Exactly how the actress changed over the year is up for assumption as well, but taking time for yourself when you have kids (there is a child in the ad) can be difficult, so whatever helps people be active is a positive. Does it need to be a $2200 spin bike? Well that leads to the next point.
Relationship to Money
No, we all do not need $2200 spin bikes to be healthy. And while some may see that as an obscene gift, others may see it as perfectly reasonable. You’ve seen the GMC ad where a woman gifts matching watches and the man gifts matching vehicles retailing well over $100,000. Is that realistic for most people? There are thousands of things to spend thousands of dollars on, and if you have the means, then it all comes down to how much value you derive from the product or service. Because of my relationship to exercise, I could see spending $250 per month on a gym membership as a great value if I use it all the time and it has the amenities I want, but do I need to pay that much when there are other exercise options for $40 per month or $10 per month? Or free? If I can afford $250 per month and I'm there often, then it retains value for me. If my membership card collects dust and I never go, then $10 per month isn’t even worth it. A decent road bike can easily eclipse $2200, it’s inherently less safe to ride on roads and trails and it doesn’t come with built in social features that many people appreciate and use to find motivation. This is not written to promote Peloton as a product, but it all comes down to what you value. That $250 per month gym membership amounts to more in one year than the upfront costs of the Peloton bike. If you think about it from a Cost Per Sweat (CPS) basis, riding a Peloton five days a week, as was mentioned in the ad, for let's assume 48 weeks of the year, is less than $10 CPS (not including monthly digital membership) which will decrease year over year and doesn't account for multiple riders. The CPS for a monthly gym membership at $40 being used once a week is the same $10. Going four times per week brings it down to around $2. At home workouts using bodyweight and free online videos are, of course, $0. But it's the personal appeal and usage frequency that are the main contributing factors to value.
Everyone who knows what a Peloton bike is already has some level of preconceived bias on the product. I suspect based on the previous two points and where you fit on the spectrum of like/dislike, this ad simply confirms or strengthens those positions. If I saw Peloton as a viable home fitness option, this ad would likely do nothing to remove it from my consideration. Would this move me closer to purchasing? Not really, but that has more to do with other factors than the appeal of the product itself. This standalone brand ad aimed at timely top of mind awareness isn't designed for conversion, but couple this ad with email and social campaigns along with a retail/membership incentive, then it can all work together successfully. If I view a Peloton bike as elitist, unnecessary and pandering to wealthy stay-at-home trophy wives who have no need for another way to look perfect, then I could see how this would feed that notion as well. I do not believe the ad itself is intentionally demeaning or tasteless, but I understand how some could view it as such and others see it as no big deal.
All in all, view it how you will, realize how your assumptions are formed and be open to other perspectives. I’m going to bundle up and go ride my bike outside because that’s my option at the moment.
(Hint, hint Santa...)
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