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Peloton holiday ad sparks ‘sexist’ outcry: Will it hurt the company in the long run?
Home-fitness company Peloton faced heavy social media backlash for their holiday ad promoting its exercise bike. Commenters blasted the promotional video as ‘sexist’ and mocked its message. Marketing expert and founder of CMO Inc., Peter Horst, shares some insight on how Peloton can bounce back from such a public shaming and what the long term impact on the company might be.
The woman who starred in the now-infamous holiday commercial for a Peloton exercise bike is breaking her silence after its controversy and has landed another gig with Aviation Gin.
Now known as the “Peloton wife,” the actress has been revealed as Monica Ruiz.
Ruiz, who has remained quiet since Peloton’s ad went viral, released a statement on Saturday, following criticism that the Peloton ad was “sexist.”
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“I was happy to accept a job opportunity earlier this year from Peloton and the team was lovely to work with. Although I’m an actress, I am not quite comfortable being in spotlight and I’m terrible on social media,” Ruiz said, according to Deadline.
“So to say I was shocked and overwhelmed by the attention this week (especially the negative) is an understatement.
“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation,” she added. “I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.”
Ruiz has starred in a number of commercials and TV shows, including “The Exes” and “Baby Daddy,” according to her IMDb profile.
Ruiz has become an online sensation after starring in the 30-second Peloton commercial, which first debuted in November. In the video, a husband surprises his wife on Christmas morning with an exercise bike, causing her to gasp with shock after lifting her own hand from her eyes.
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Many online critics slammed the commercial as sexist and “a symbol of patriarchy” over the suggestion of a husband gifting his wife an exercise bike. Just days after the controversy, however, Ruiz is seen starring in another holiday commercial – this time for Ryan Reynold’s spirit company, Aviation Gin.
Reynolds posted the ad to his official Twitter account on Friday evening with the caption, “Exercise bike not included,” an obvious reference to the Peloton commercial.
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The commercial opens with Ruiz sitting at a bar between two other women. Ruiz is seen staring stoically at the camera before she snaps out of it and tells her girlfriends, “This gin is really smooth.”
“We can get you another one,” one of her friends says, while the other friend says, “You’re safe here.”
The women then toast to “new beginnings” before Ruiz gulps from her gin-filled martini glass.
Twitter erupted after Reynolds shared the video and hailed it as a genius marketing strategy.
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“Potentially, he just singlehandedly made her career after it was undermined by that other, inept advert,” a Twitter user commented.
Another wrote, “Quite possibly the greatest response to a messed up commercial EVER! And it only cost @onepeloton a billion dollars in value!”
Fox News’ Janine Puhak and Alexandra Deabler contributed to this report.
