paigepea
Drama Llama
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Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
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Post by paigepea on Dec 5, 2019 12:59:39 GMT
I think that big companies should be smarter when committing to advertisements. There are so many different ways this ad could have been done to take out any possible controversy. I don’t mind that the husband gifts the bike or that the woman on the bike already appears fit. It’s the videos that turn me off. To me, watching people watching a video of themselves on the bike / charting their journey tells me the peloton user is self obsessed. I don’t get the constant desire to video yourself working out. I have friends who post videos of themselves at the gym. I think the ad would have been classier had the woman shown personal fulfillment as opposed to taking videos and sharing with her husband. Can we not do something for ourselves without videoing it to share with others? I can see why some people would be turned off peloton now. The company could have made better choices. Working out and relationships between spouses are sensitive subjects. Not everyone will have the same opinion. Best to be neutral.
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Post by pjaye on Dec 5, 2019 13:36:17 GMT
Seriously? I'm sorry but this is such a stretch! Considering the actual outcome of the company losing $1.5b ...plenty of people can see the problems, so it's not that much of a 'stretch" If only a few people were complaining about it then you could use the stretch argument but when the issue is big enough for them to lose such a massive amount and it blows up like this on social media then you kind of have to accept that there IS something wrong with the ad.
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smartypants71
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Posts: 5,698
Location: Houston, TX
Jun 25, 2014 22:47:49 GMT
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Post by smartypants71 on Dec 5, 2019 13:40:33 GMT
I think the ad is pretty dumb. I don't care what the actress looks like. I just want to know why she videoed herself and why her husband wants to watch it with her. I only wish SO bought me one! He bought me a new mountain bike (more expensive than the peloton) as an early bday/Christmas present. I had an accident on it the first time I rode it and it ended up costing me over $2000 in ER/surgical bills LOL! I keep joking with my senior DS that as soon as he leaves for college, his room is my new Peloton room
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Post by Merge on Dec 5, 2019 13:42:31 GMT
I love my Peloton - but I do think it's a terrible ad. And for me, it has more to do with the husband giving her the Peloton as a gift. As much as I love my bike, unless I asked for it (my dh and I bought it together) don't give me exercise equipment. And perhaps that's why they chose a skinny actress (now that I think more about it) - if she'd been heavy set, people really would've been "how could he give her an exercise bike! What an oaf!" I am surprised this made it through the commercial advertising process without one person asking "do you think this works?" If they are trying to sell more of these bikes, hammering home the message that they are just for the skinny and rich is probably not the way to do it. Well, they kind of already do that with their ads where beautiful, fit people pedal away on a bike sitting on a purpose-built platform looking out over a bank of windows with a very expensive view. They are a niche product for affluent people, IMO, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's kind of like the annual Lexus event ads where the beautiful car is parked in the driveway at Christmas with a big bow on it. No way that's happening for 99% of American families, but the ads appear year after year. I agree with you that it's the fact that a Peloton is a surprise gift that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Again, in 99% of American households, that would be a very bad move by the husband - even if his wife is thin. There is almost no way to surprise someone with exercise equipment without the undertone of, "I really think you should really use this."
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 5, 2019 13:45:40 GMT
What am I missing? What's the big deal? Where's the sexism? No doubt you are in a healthy relationship with your SO. However if you weren't, if you were a couple of kilos overweight after you'd had a baby, and your husband was constantly criticising you about your weight, or body or fitness and you were already feeling bad about yourself, THEN he gets you an exercise bike for Christmas, and you are expected to use it and video yourself doing so to prove you are using it, and shedding that 2 kilos...I doubt you'd be as thrilled to get that bike under those circumstances. She's already thin & fit looking - but he gives her an exercise bike as a surprise gift. Then she exercises all year long & records it - then she gives the recording of herself exercising back to him. It's titled "the gift that gives back". The undertone is the controlling husband, the wife has to stay thin and fit to keep him happy...she has to record herself using his gift, it's creepy/Stepford wife-y and with a tone of implied fear/domestic violence. The gift "gives back" because he gives her the gi ft and he "gets back" her staying attractive for him. Her already being thin is part of the problem, a "year long journey" because she was what?...I kilo overweight? I think it's being seen as dystopian because it portrays a world where thin, attractive women are given fitness equipment by their husbands and have to use it and record themselves for a year to stay exactly the way they already are to keep the husband happy/satisfied. That commercial isn't a world I'd want to live in! Sure - lots of people (men as well as women) use exercise equipment to either stay fit (if they already are) or get fit if they aren't. There's many ways they could portray that without making all about a man controlling a women, or a woman doing it to keep her man happy. The fact that they made and put that commercial out there and didn't see anything wrong with it and it didn't ping anyone's radar within the company is also problematic. It shows they still hold these stereotypical (i.e sexist) ideas about men and women and their roles in relationships. I think people/you are reading too much into this very short commercial. If you want to go there...you don't know if she had mentioned the exercise bike before. She could have been surprised because of the cost or that he paid attention to what she had said she wanted. We don't know the dynamics in their relationship. She seems excited to get it, not disturbed or upset. As for a thin woman being the actress...I personally would have liked to see someone who was not already thin be the main actress. Mostly because I am tired of seeing only thin people posting on IG, in commercials, etc. Not because I don't think that a thin person couldn't benefit from a Peleton. Obviously, exercise is good for anyone and can transform people in more ways than just the physical appearance. If they had a heavier woman be the actress, then people would be complaining that it was weight shaming. I also don't get the outrage over being gifted exercise equipment. Is it automatically sexist to be gifted cooking equipment, appliances, etc? For both, I can see how in some circumstances it could be taken as sexist, but in many situations it is not.
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Post by Merge on Dec 5, 2019 13:50:10 GMT
I think whether the ad is offensive to you or not depends entirely on your assumptions about the back story. If your version of the back story is that the husband is controlling and she's desperate to please him with her video, then yes, it's creepy as hell. If your version of the back story is that she just really wanted this bike and is incredibly grateful for it, then it's a lame ad, IMO, but not necessarily creepy. Clearly Peleton is trying to send the message that your spouse will be incredibly grateful if you buy this bike for them - a message that is doomed to failure as I'd say most women emphatically do not want exercise equipment for Christmas. I think most of us would rather see a message about self-empowerment in 2019 - doing something challenging for yourself rather than for someone else.But she's thanking him for the gift that made it possible for her to attain that self-empowerment Her achievement on that bike when she started and what she can achieve on it now.....speed and her own fitness was brought about by her not him. He just gifted her the means to do it. IDK, something about the ad just comes across that she's desperate to please him with her accomplishment. It seems a very over the top level of ongoing "gratitude" for a fancy exercise bike, KWIM?
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Post by Merge on Dec 5, 2019 13:51:07 GMT
No doubt you are in a healthy relationship with your SO. However if you weren't, if you were a couple of kilos overweight after you'd had a baby, and your husband was constantly criticising you about your weight, or body or fitness and you were already feeling bad about yourself, THEN he gets you an exercise bike for Christmas, and you are expected to use it and video yourself doing so to prove you are using it, and shedding that 2 kilos...I doubt you'd be as thrilled to get that bike under those circumstances. She's already thin & fit looking - but he gives her an exercise bike as a surprise gift. Then she exercises all year long & records it - then she gives the recording of herself exercising back to him. It's titled "the gift that gives back". The undertone is the controlling husband, the wife has to stay thin and fit to keep him happy...she has to record herself using his gift, it's creepy/Stepford wife-y and with a tone of implied fear/domestic violence. The gift "gives back" because he gives her the gi ft and he "gets back" her staying attractive for him. Her already being thin is part of the problem, a "year long journey" because she was what?...I kilo overweight? I think it's being seen as dystopian because it portrays a world where thin, attractive women are given fitness equipment by their husbands and have to use it and record themselves for a year to stay exactly the way they already are to keep the husband happy/satisfied. That commercial isn't a world I'd want to live in! Sure - lots of people (men as well as women) use exercise equipment to either stay fit (if they already are) or get fit if they aren't. There's many ways they could portray that without making all about a man controlling a women, or a woman doing it to keep her man happy. The fact that they made and put that commercial out there and didn't see anything wrong with it and it didn't ping anyone's radar within the company is also problematic. It shows they still hold these stereotypical (i.e sexist) ideas about men and women and their roles in relationships. I think people/you are reading too much into this very short commercial. If you want to go there...you don't know if she had mentioned the exercise bike before. She could have been surprised because of the cost or that he paid attention to what she had said she wanted. We don't know the dynamics in their relationship. She seems excited to get it, not disturbed or upset. As for a thin woman being the actress...I personally would have liked to see someone who was not already thin be the main actress. Mostly because I am tired of seeing only thin people posting on IG, in commercials, etc. Not because I don't think that a thin person couldn't benefit from a Peleton. Obviously, exercise is good for anyone and can transform people in more ways than just the physical appearance. If they had a heavier woman be the actress, then people would be complaining that it was weight shaming. Or god forbid that she was still heavy at the end of the story, but more aerobically fit than before. The horror!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 30, 2024 0:16:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 13:51:11 GMT
I would absolutely love to have this bike for Christmas. I wish it was anywhere near our budget to buy one and I would happily accept one from Jeremy. But I know he'd be buying it because I want it. And I know his intention with it. I think theres no problem with the gift of the bike. I think where it gets creepy is the video. Because my husband would know if I was using it I'd surely not have to show him video. And lastly, it's her weight that is the problem. If she had been 200 lbs to start and then lost weight using it and they left the husband out, we'd all be on peletons side here. I can see guilt and I can see innocence. I think it was a poor choice. But to lose market share I think is silly. Clearly peleton has a good product. I'm just not seeing they utilized the best way to sell it here. That's the weird controlling vibe to me too. I wonder how many men and women worked on and approved the ad. Super controlling creepy vibe to me.
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Post by KikiPea on Dec 5, 2019 13:54:29 GMT
I’m sorry, I don’t get the outrage. I think it’s ridiculous.
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Post by KikiPea on Dec 5, 2019 13:58:34 GMT
I've seen it. She was excited to get it. She records herself for a year. Maybe she was already thin. But getting up early to workout or doing it when she got home was a big deal for her. She made a commitment and stuck to it. So that is a transformation in itself. She showed her husband and was saying thank you. Don't see the big deal.
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Post by pjaye on Dec 5, 2019 14:01:35 GMT
Is it automatically sexist to be gifted cooking equipment, appliances, etc? In general - yes. Especially in advertising. There's plenty of ways they could make an ad that does not involve sexist stereotypes. You could have a fit/athletic woman buying one for herself and talking about how it helps her to achieve her fitness goals, you could have an overweight couple buying one together and the ad could focus on how the bike can be used for both of them, you could have a woman with children talking about how convenient it is for her to be able to work out at home and not have to go to a gym. You can sell an exercise bike to a woman in an ad without including the message "you have to stay thin for your control freak husband" It's not that hard.
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Post by circusjohnson on Dec 5, 2019 14:20:44 GMT
I'm not thin, I have always struggled with my weight but I would be over the moon if my DH gave me a Peloton for Christmas. I love exercise and it has lots of benefits not just weight loss. I don't see anything wrong with the ad. People are projecting meaning onto the ad due to their bad relationships with SO, weight and exercise.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 30, 2024 0:16:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 14:30:45 GMT
I'm another one that thinks the Peleton ad is stupid but not offensive. There are several other ads that I can think of that offend me more than this one.
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Post by Jockscrap on Dec 5, 2019 14:47:04 GMT
Well I hadn’t heard of Peloton before all this hullabaloo so on the basis that no publicity is bad publicity, I guess the advert works and sales will start to recover.
But I’m the girl who laughed when her DH gave her an exercise bike (unasked for) with a label on it saying ‘for your cellulite’ so what do I know? I weighed about 7.5 stone at the time! His gift giving has improved since then and not all gifts now come from sports shops or HMV.
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Post by peano on Dec 5, 2019 14:48:55 GMT
But she's thanking him for the gift that made it possible for her to attain that self-empowerment Her achievement on that bike when she started and what she can achieve on it now.....speed and her own fitness was brought about by her not him. He just gifted her the means to do it. IDK, something about the ad just comes across that she's desperate to please him with her accomplishment. It seems a very over the top level of ongoing "gratitude" for a fancy exercise bike, KWIM? Well, maybe it's my own individual perspective in that after YEARS of hard work in therapy, it seems this year I am reaping the benefits of all my hard work. So I just saw it as someone who wanted to document the trajectory of her increased fitness/empowerment. And did anyone catch the song playing in the background? The lyrics are: She's blood, flesh and bone No tucks or silicone She's touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound But somehow I can't believe That anything should happen I know where I belong And nothing's going to happen, yeah 'Cause she's so high High above me She's so lovely She's so high Like Cleopatra Joan of Arc or Aphrodite Da-da-da-da-da She's so high High above me First class and fancy free She's high society She's got the best of everything What could a guy like me Ever really offer She's perfect as she can be Why should I even bother 'Cause she's so high High above me She's so lovely She's so high Like Cleopatra Joan of Arc or Aphrodite Da-da-da-da-da She's so high High above me She comes to speak to me I freeze immediately 'Cause what she says sounds so unreal 'Cause somehow I can't believe That anything should happen I know where I belong And nothing's going to happen, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 'Cause she's so high High above me She's so lovely She's so high Like Cleopatra Joan of Arc or Aphrodite Oh, yeah She's so high High above me
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trollie
Pearl Clutcher
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Jul 2, 2014 22:14:02 GMT
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Post by trollie on Dec 5, 2019 14:53:39 GMT
Not offended. Would be totally excited to get that, but I also wanted a particular vacuum one year for Christmas! Oh, the horrors!! A better ad would have been for both of them to get fit together (They could get fit together, vlog their exercise journey together, and then be criticized by twitterers for trying to portray the most perfect lifestyle!!), but I'm guessing that 2 Pelotons are not in most peoples' budgets. I remember looking up the price for this awhile back, and it was cost prohibitive for our household. eta - I don't think it's a great ad
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Post by cristelina on Dec 5, 2019 14:53:57 GMT
I had no desire for one before but I certainly don't now! Excersize equipment is not a gift you surprise someone with unless you KNOW for sure they want it and you have a few higher dollar gems to go with it. Couldn't agree more! My first husband gave me a gym membership for Christmas. Just for me. It wasn't even a couple's membership. I was so hurt!! He was like "but I only did it for your health". BS. He thought I was too fat. And to be fair, I am rather plump 5'2" 158lbs
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paget
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Jun 25, 2014 21:16:39 GMT
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Post by paget on Dec 5, 2019 14:58:02 GMT
I think what people are “seeing” in the ad says more about them than the message peloton is delivering. I already noted my opinion up thread that I felt it was a positive ad- the woman is clearly happy to receive the gift and is proud of her commitment using it.
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Post by Merge on Dec 5, 2019 15:11:19 GMT
I'm not thin, I have always struggled with my weight but I would be over the moon if my DH gave me a Peloton for Christmas. I love exercise and it has lots of benefits not just weight loss. I don't see anything wrong with the ad. People are projecting meaning onto the ad due to their bad relationships with SO, weight and exercise. You disagree with people making assumptions about a backstory in a commercial, so you’re going to ... make assumptions about their backstory? 😂
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Dec 5, 2019 15:13:11 GMT
Is it automatically sexist to be gifted cooking equipment, appliances, etc? In general - yes. Especially in advertising. There's plenty of ways they could make an ad that does not involve sexist stereotypes. You could have a fit/athletic woman buying one for herself and talking about how it helps her to achieve her fitness goals, you could have an overweight couple buying one together and the ad could focus on how the bike can be used for both of them, you could have a woman with children talking about how convenient it is for her to be able to work out at home and not have to go to a gym. You can sell an exercise bike to a woman in an ad without including the message "you have to stay thin for your control freak husband" It's not that hard. I agree that the ad could have been better. But there are plenty of ads that I think portray men in a bad light and stereotype male/female roles in the home. But women find them funny or say, "so true" and nobody makes a big deal out of it. Overall, I agree with the poster above who said that people are projecting their own issues onto the ad.
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Post by cristelina on Dec 5, 2019 15:15:05 GMT
There is almost no way to surprise someone with exercise equipment without the undertone of, "I really think you should really use this." The fact that she is surprised to me is the problem with this commercial. They clearly are very wealthy (because of the gorgeous house with amazing views) so getting this bike as a "surprise" is so 1950's. Man getting expensive gift for wife. Yay him! Plus, she really shows him the videos of her workouts? What??? I don't care if my husband looked like Chris Hemsworth, I have better things to entertain myself with than watching his workouts. And I would just like to add that I really hate the Lexus commercials. I don't want anyone to choose a car for me. Just to reiterate, it's the surprise that's the problem. All the women in these adds looked so shocked to receive this gift. And don't get me started on the LifeTime movies where the man buys a surprise house for his SO. And one last thing, my son who worked for the park service in Glacier National park would probably thin "Look at your surroundings! Just go hiking."
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freebird
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Jun 25, 2014 20:06:48 GMT
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Post by freebird on Dec 5, 2019 15:23:04 GMT
It doesn't bother me a bit. Maybe she loves to work out and really wanted this bike for HOME so she could spend more time with her kid? I mean, it's an expensive gift, and she seems thrilled. Maybe that bike at home gained her a lot of time with her family, so that was the gift that gave back? I dunno, seems ok to me. If she wanted it, and it was important, seems like a thoughtful gift and she was thankful to her husband for popping for something expensive.
I also go to the gym almost every single day with my husband and we have a healthy relationship. If you have an unhealthy relationship with your spouse nagging your about your weight, then your beef should be with him, not a commercial reminding you that you married a douchebag.
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Dalai Mama
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Dec 5, 2019 15:34:23 GMT
I'm not outraged, I'm not projecting, but I still the ad has a creepy as fuck vibe that sets my teeth on edge.
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Post by kitkath on Dec 5, 2019 15:36:03 GMT
I would love a Peloton for Christmas! We have crappy WiFi so the classes wouldn’t work for me. A few years ago I asked for and got a treadmill. I use it 3-4 times a week.
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Dalai Mama
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Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Dec 5, 2019 15:40:45 GMT
It doesn't bother me a bit. Maybe she loves to work out and really wanted this bike for HOME so she could spend more time with her kid? I mean, it's an expensive gift, and she seems thrilled. Maybe that bike at home gained her a lot of time with her family, so that was the gift that gave back? I dunno, seems ok to me. If she wanted it, and it was important, seems like a thoughtful gift and she was thankful to her husband for popping for something expensive. I also go to the gym almost every single day with my husband and we have a healthy relationship. If you have an unhealthy relationship with your spouse nagging your about your weight, then your beef should be with him, not a commercial reminding you that you married a douchebag. FFS. I work out with my husband too. I was overjoyed when he got me a new pair of running shoes for Valentine's Day a few years back (I did ask for them). But I also didn't take videos of my runs and show him a compilation the following year while my kid opened his gift by himself in a corner either, so. . . this has nothing to do with my projecting an unhealthy relationship with a douchebag husband onto a commercial.
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janeliz
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Jun 26, 2014 14:35:07 GMT
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Post by janeliz on Dec 5, 2019 15:41:44 GMT
I think it didn’t help that the actress decided to go with a panicky, anxious demeanor for her character. That is, IMO, why some people are getting a sort of “wife desperate to please her controlling husband” vibe from the commercial.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Dec 5, 2019 15:59:33 GMT
I watched it too and I didn't see what the big deal was. I think people look to be offended in anyway possible. it would be a lot less creepy if she didn't look freakin' WORRIED in every video she took. Excited / happy is DIFFERENT than WORRIED. If you see her look as *worried* (which is what it looked like to ME) then it looks controlling; like she's having to prove to him that she's using it. And yeah, it was just lame, how she had him watch the video with her, etc. I haven't seen this ad before, but it would rub me the wrong way if I saw it, because of the 'worried' thing. I've seen MUCH better Peleton ads.
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Post by katlady on Dec 5, 2019 16:23:15 GMT
I am another one who is not outraged over the commercial. I don’t think it is a great ad, but I know a few people who would love a peloton. Watching The Daily Show on YouTube last night and Trevor made reference to this at the very end of this clip. It made me laugh out loud because I thought if this thread. youtu.be/LywmZlrbW8o
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Post by tallgirl on Dec 5, 2019 16:25:40 GMT
It’s not only fat people who need to exercise and exercise isn’t only about losing weight. This, a thousand times. I think the people who don't see a problem with the ad are largely a group of people who would enjoy receiving exercise equipment as a gift. If it's something you would like and your partner knows that, great. But if you're someone who would not want it, or worse, someone whose partner would push it on you for their own gain, then it's creepy. So because there are some very different interpretations possible, including some pretty bad ones, Peloton missed the mark with the ad. For what it's worth - I get some sort of exercise-related gift nearly every year, and I love it.
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scrappinspidey2
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Mar 18, 2015 19:19:37 GMT
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Post by scrappinspidey2 on Dec 5, 2019 16:28:30 GMT
The ad kinda rubbed me the wrong way. But not enough that I would be upset or taking to social media for. Out of Curiosity I went and looked up the bike and the treadmill. Yeah No. The cost is what keeps me from purchasing, not the ad. I do laugh cause I have a couple of friends who are super dedicated to their early morning gym routine and they were making fun of her clip about being proud of getting up at 6 to ride her new fancy bike. These friends have day jobs so they get up at 3-4am to get their gym time in. They had a good time with the 6am. Me? Nope. I don't get up for 6 am even for work. f I were working out it would be much later at night. I find it interesting that there is so much outrage that the lost money in the billions. They obviously missed the marketing boat on this one. Its too bad cause I think its a good concept. If it wasn't so damn expensive I would consider it.
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