The infamous Peloton ad. Rewind back to 2021. It was an innocent enough ad. A woman receives a Peloton as a gift and finds her dedication to riding throughout the year has led to marked change in her life. It is as if they are conveying, “You, too, can transform with dedication and our product.” It’s aspirational and an appeal to many people’s vision of a possible self. If you put your mind to it, if you stay committed, you could become the person you have always dreamed of being.
Then, there was the backlash that happened as a result. Critics didn’t receive the ad as aspirational, but accusatory. “If this thin woman is gifted a bike, obviously you are saying she is fat, and therefore you are saying we are fat and need to change. How dare you? And why is this man giving his wife exercise equipment?” And then it all went viral.
I imagine the key issues is that the messaging in video advertising includes everything scripted out, but it goes beyond the obvious actions, images, and sounds. Of course the storyline matters, but the bodies of the people cast also convey a meaning, whether this is intended or not.
The next holiday season, it appears Peloton kept with the aspirational take, but in the Christmas and New Year ads for 2022/2023, the storytelling element was gone. We get a glimpse of how Peloton dedication makes you better in all aspects of your life:
and how having a Peloton can help you break free from the curse of new year’s resolution drop off.
One of the tricky parts of the rise of social media is that you don’t get nearly as much control over who sees your ad. Messaging that might work for your specific target market can be scrutinized by other groups. The magic is in learning how to communicate in way that resonates with the people who desire your product, while still maintaining a positive enough brand image in others’ eyes. It seems that Peloton continues to play with the way to craft their core message every year in a way that doesn’t make it go viral for the wrong reasons.
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