Latest Peloton ad is unforgettable...and not in a good way

Let’s get the necessary disclaimers out of the way.

Peloton is an innovative company. I use the Peloton app regularly. I ride a stationary bike with an iPad connected to a TV screen and take classes. Those classes make me sweat and work harder than I likely would have otherwise (and your health is your wealth).

What’s more, Peloton’s offer has evolved. I’ve branched out to their newer classes for Boot Camps and Running. It’s no longer just a bike. It’s a real fitness brand with a strong and growing community and a consistent user experience.

Let me also add that, for many reasons, the Peloton brand (their bike, shoes, app, gear, etc.) was never made for or marketed to “everyone.”

Oh, and perhaps most importantly, I’m not an advertising critic.

All that said, there are times when I watch a TV commercial and think to myself: “What could they possibly have been thinking?” Forget about wrong or right, good or bad. There are those spots when things just don’t compute. It doesn’t happen that often. Typically, even if I can’t stand an ad, a part of my brain can wrap itself around the how and why. This is not one of those times. Take a look for yourself, and then we’ll lean in a bit on this one.

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pShKu2icEYw&w=854&h=480]

Did everyone get that? Anyone want to watch again, just to make sure? Go ahead. We’ll wait.

Now where exactly to start? Well, actually, let’s begin a touch further back. More specifically, last holiday season when Peloton released an ad campaign. About that time, a guy I now follow (@ClueHeywood) became Internet-famous for a Twitter-storm that combined creativity, wit and captured what many folks were thinking. Take a read through the USA Today piece that helped make “The Peloton guy” go viral. Really brilliant stuff.

That said, I sort of got where Peloton was at the time. Catering to a certain audience with a self-centered and uhhh, aspirational(?), series of images that played off of what others probably already thought about the brand if it was looking itself in the mirror. One could argue it made sense for a still-emerging brand.

Now, fast-forward to the present day. Holiday 2019. Peloton has since IPO’d and has a fresh, new TV spot airing nationally. And. They. Did. It. Again. Only this time, I really don’t get it.

My gut said ‘hard no’ The response was immediate and visceral, but a temperature check is sometimes good. So, I went to YouTube and glanced at the likes/dislikes on the above video. It’s not a tell-all, but the stats were, well, telling. The ‘ole thumbs up had a 161 count. The thumbs down? 2.4K. Not the typical desired ratio, at least according to conventional wisdom.

So, where are my issues with this one? Pretty much everywhere. First off, this seems to follow the formula of the absurd-ish Lexus December-to-remember ads that have been running for what seems like a century (maybe that’s the point?). Only, the cheesy set-up slowly reveals that this is not, in fact, an ad for a giant-sized SUV wrapped in an equally gigantic bow. Instead, it’s all about the Peloton bike.

The bike is gifted to a young, attractive woman by her young, attractive husband. We then follow her on a year-long “journey,” during which (one would assume) she “finds her strength,” as the brand’s tagline and copy suggests. Each day she endures the struggles of everyday suburban life and perseveres. At the end of the spot, she shows a video of her selfies and lovingly thanks her husband for the “gift of Peloton.” I just…none of it…what the…Twitter, can you help me?

Let’s start with our friend, Clue.

Nailed it. There are some more caustic takes across the Interwebs, but they generally capture a similar sentiment of disdain (take a gander, if you have some free time).

One could argue that this is Peloton’s audience, and they don’t need to cater to anyone else. And, no, not every ad has to have every creed, color and socio-economic class represented in a beautiful poem to political correctness. However, I happen to believe that Peloton is trying to go more mainstream. Like Lululemon, eventually your brand needs to evolve…or at least give appearances that it’s trying. The narrow slice of the market eventually becomes too narrow.

What’s more is that Peloton goes to great lengths to talk about its “community.” You…riding, running, becoming better, with the help of their instructors and this powerful global group of co-supporters (virtual and otherwise). The One Peloton positioning is pretty central to the proposition. “Together we go far.”

My point? I’m not a creative director, but I think there are countless ways to bring the power of the community proposition (and the real benefit of connecting and “competing” alongside others) together with the inherently “individualistic” act of jumping on a bike or a treadmill. In my mind’s eye, Peloton could’ve easily created an ad that melded those two worlds in a truly inspiration way (in the vein of a Nike). You can imagine how real “members” (as they deem their users) might have even been a part of it all. People from different parts of the country. Different journeys. One shared — and collective - mission.

Instead, we got this. Maybe I’m just not part of the One.