Peloton exercise bike ad mocked as being 'sexist' and 'dystopian'

[Derec]

We're talking about the guy in the ad who spent thousands of dollars on an exercise bike for his already skinny wife and reviewed her 'progress' at the end of the year.

But you don't know anything about these two. In fact, they do not have an existence outside the ad. They have no backstory. Chris Nolan will not be directing "Peleton Girl Begins".
You are projecting your own BS onto them. It's the same with that gin ad. Why is she drinking? You can come up with stories, but the gin girl is not real. She is not even a developed character, and so there likely is no canonical story. Same goes for the Peleton girl. For all we know, she is training for a triathlon. Would be consistent with her already being athletic.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout?

Maybe cycling is her weakness and she is nervous the cycling portion will keep her from a good overall finish.

Besides, you said "it was normalized centuries ago". So your answer was about much more than an imaginary dude in a 30s commercial.

 

[Arctish]

We're talking about the guy in the ad who spent thousands of dollars on an exercise bike for his already skinny wife and reviewed her 'progress' at the end of the year.

But you don't know anything about these two. In fact, they do not have an existence outside the ad. They have no backstory. Chris Nolan will not be directing "Peleton Girl Begins".

Exactly.

There's no backstory in commercials so we have to guess why the people in them are doing what we see them do. Usually it's pretty simple. People eating food look happy because the food tastes good. A kid about to ride a bike without training wheels looks nervous because he's never done it before. A teenager in a cap and gown is smiling because they're graduating. But the woman in the Peloton ad has an unusual reaction to it, and that invites speculation.

She was more surprised than thrilled about the gift, she looked scared before her first work out, and she and her husband review her progress together at year's end. That's weird. So whatever the backstory is, it has to account for the weirdness.

You are projecting your own BS onto them. It's the same with that gin ad. Why is she drinking? You can come up with stories, but the gin girl is not real. She is not even a developed character, and so there likely is no canonical story. Same goes for the Peleton girl. For all we know, she is training for a triathlon. Would be consistent with her already being athletic.

A triathlete with an anxiety disorder, perhaps.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout?

Maybe cycling is her weakness and she is nervous the cycling portion will keep her from a good overall finish.

That would explain the annual review but it doesn't explain why she looked scared. She knows how to ride a bike, right? And she presumably wants to get better. So what's with the Nervous Nellie face? Is she afraid she'll break the thing if she pushes the wrong button?

Besides, you said "it was normalized centuries ago". So your answer was about much more than an imaginary dude in a 30s commercial.

I was momentarily distracted by Metaphor getting huffy.

 

[Toni]

My question is who is actually whining about this? How many are real people? How many are bots? How many are trolls?

So just to be clear, my wife will not be insulted if I buy her an exercise bike?

...a $2500 exercise bike.

...plus a $39-per-month membership fee for the streaming content and iOS app, obligatory for the first year.

I think the woman in the ad looked scared because she was already so skinny she had no flab to lose, she'd get heavier if she put on muscle mass, and her husband would be pissed he spent thousands on a stupid exercise bike if any part of her besides her breasts got bigger.

Unlikely to put on much muscle mass. Women put on far less muscle mass than do men and riding the bike is more likely to build muscle in her legs and buttocks---still not likely the same way it would a man. I think she was very self conscious about her body and afraid she'd gain an ounce or two and hubby would disapprove. The exercise bike set clear expectations.

Rich waspy women tend to be pretty thin, or that's the 'ideal.' Most wealthier women I know are much more concerned about their looks than less wealthy women. In part because it is expected of them by their husbands and by their fellow club members.

 

[Metaphor]

I'm not angry at women who build muscle mass. I think the woman in that ad was afraid her husband would be displeased if she gained weight over the course of the year after he spent thousands on an exercise bike for her, which she would if she gained muscle mass. It's not like she had any fat or water weight to lose. But apparently her annual review went well, so it's all good.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout? She kinda looked like this guy

and he was having a really bad year.

Her annual review?

Have you stopped to think for a second how paranoid and demented your interpretation of this commercial is?

Why do I think she was afraid? Because she's a bad actor? Because she's never committed to an organised exercise program? Because her husband made offscreen threats to beat the shit out of her? Why does your mind immediately go to the idea that an exercise bike is an abusive gift to give?

 

[Metaphor]

We're talking about the guy in the ad who spent thousands of dollars on an exercise bike for his already skinny wife and reviewed her 'progress' at the end of the year.

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"

That

guy.

The one married to the nervous looking woman.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout?

Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

 

[Arctish]

I'm not angry at women who build muscle mass. I think the woman in that ad was afraid her husband would be displeased if she gained weight over the course of the year after he spent thousands on an exercise bike for her, which she would if she gained muscle mass. It's not like she had any fat or water weight to lose. But apparently her annual review went well, so it's all good.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout? She kinda looked like this guy

and he was having a really bad year.

Her annual review?

Have you stopped to think for a second how paranoid and demented your interpretation of this commercial is?

Why do I think she was afraid?

Because she looked like this as she prepared for her first workout on the Peloton:



She said she was nervous. What the hell was there to be nervous about? Is she afraid of falling off? Of looking sweaty and gross in front of the instructor on the app? Of failing to properly demonstrate her appreciation by exercising daily?

Because she's a bad actor? Because she's never committed to an organised exercise program? Because her husband made offscreen threats to beat the shit out of her? Why does your mind immediately go to the idea that an exercise bike is an abusive gift to give?

I didn't say that an exercise bike is an abusive gift. I said her reaction to it was weird. So was the Thank You video with images of her using the bike all year she showed to her husband at the end. That was really weird. Who makes a video of their workouts to show to their spouse? And who wants to sit through a year's worth of stationary bike highlights? "This is me pedaling for the first time. I was so nervous! This is me pedaling in February. See how much faster I'm going? See how sweaty I got? Just wait 'til you see me pedaling in June!"

 

[Arctish]

We're talking about the guy in the ad who spent thousands of dollars on an exercise bike for his already skinny wife and reviewed her 'progress' at the end of the year.

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"

That

guy.

The one married to the nervous looking woman.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout?

Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

:

Talk about losing one's mind!

I said the woman in the ad had a weird reaction to the Peloton. I hypothesized a reason for it:

I think the woman in the ad looked scared because she was already so skinny she had no flab to lose, she'd get heavier if she put on muscle mass, and her husband would be pissed he spent thousands on a stupid exercise bike if any part of her besides her breasts got bigger.

and you imagine I run into gyms screaming at skinny women to get off the treadmills. Evidently the regressive left aren't the only ones projecting their fantasies onto inkblots.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

We're talking about the guy in the ad who spent thousands of dollars on an exercise bike for his already skinny wife and reviewed her 'progress' at the end of the year.

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"

That

guy.

The one married to the nervous looking woman.

What do you think she was afraid of before her first workout?

Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

So we’ve graduated from several Twitter reactions to the entire left-wing?

 

[thebeave]

Sadly both actors are getting crap online about it, but anyone "famous" gets crap on the internet...internet trolls live for this kind of shit. People called for Jody Whittaker's death for crying out loud, people 'claiming' to be Doctor Who fans. It's bupkiss; these people just live to try and shock and deserve nothing more than being ignored.

The more I look at the OP ad, I admit I do start to see a few potentially iffy things. Perhaps my initial view was formed by a reaction to the over the top criticisms and maybe there are more minor ones that could be made.

Again, whether an individual ad in isolation (as opposed to a potentially dubious pattern being evident in ads by a certain manufacturer) should be taken to task, I'm not sure, especially when the objectionable elements in an ad are minor or mild.

I'd be happy with the ad being deconstructed, including criticisms, but if an over-reaction leads to financial losses of several million pounds (possibly more) I think it's a bit....much. Although the point has been made by another poster that the loss may be temporary and the manufacturer may even gain in the long run, under the 'there's no such thing as bad publicity ' rule.

And the male actor getting online abuse seems very unfortunate, and would surely be non-trivial for him.

All in all I'd still say this was woke going too far.

Well, not exactly true:

https://www.tmz.com/2019/12/09/peloton-wife-monica-ruiz-nice-lucky-snl-joke-hilarious/

The "wife" in the derided Peloton ad is taking the mockery in stride, and unlike the "husband" in the spot ... she says everyone's been cool to her about it, and she considers all the hubbub to be a positive thing.

The actress, Monica Ruiz, was out walking her dog Sunday when she was asked about all the backlash to the commercial ... and she pretty much laughed it off like it's no big deal.

It's interesting, because the actor who plays the Peloton hubby, Sean Hunter, seems to be having the opposite experience of Monica's. He said he doesn't find the situation -- or the 'SNL' jokes --- to be all that humorous, because he's getting flooded with hate mail while the world laughs.

 

[thebeave]

Because she looked like this as she prepared for her first workout on the Peloton:

View attachment 25238

She said she was nervous. What the hell was there to be nervous about? Is she afraid of falling off? Of looking sweaty and gross in front of the instructor on the app? Of failing to properly demonstrate her appreciation by exercising daily?

Because she's a bad actor? Because she's never committed to an organised exercise program? Because her husband made offscreen threats to beat the shit out of her? Why does your mind immediately go to the idea that an exercise bike is an abusive gift to give?

I didn't say that an exercise bike is an abusive gift. I said her reaction to it was weird. So was the Thank You video with images of her using the bike all year she showed to her husband at the end. That was really weird. Who makes a video of their workouts to show to their spouse? And who wants to sit through a year's worth of stationary bike highlights? "This is me pedaling for the first time. I was so nervous! This is me pedaling in February. See how much faster I'm going? See how sweaty I got? Just wait 'til you see me pedaling in June!"

Women can get nervous and anxious about things that aren't scary (/sexist comment). I had a girlfriend who freaked out when she saw a daddy long legs spider in my bathtub. BFD.

 

[laughing dog]

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"




Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

So we’ve graduated from several Twitter reactions to the entire left-wing?

Apparently non-random small samples provide rigorous and reliable information about entire amorphous populations.

 

[laughing dog]

So, why are all heterosexual men so shallow and so uniform in their tastes? Why do you get angry at women who build muscle mass? What's wrong with you?

We are not. We do not. Nothing.

Arctish is not "all heterosexual men".

If my memory is valid on this issue. Arctish is woman.

 

[ZiprHead]

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"




Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

So we’ve graduated from several Twitter reactions to the entire left-wing?

Apparently non-random small samples provide rigorous and reliable information about entire amorphous populations.

Funny how there's so much identity politics on the anti-identity politics side.

 

[Metaphor]

What the hell was there to be nervous about? Is she afraid of falling off? Of looking sweaty and gross in front of the instructor on the app? Of failing to properly demonstrate her appreciation by exercising daily?

I already gave you a list of reasons she might be nervous. The point is, your mind went to the worst one, which says more about you than the inkblot of the commercial.

...Who makes a video of their workouts to show to their spouse? And who wants to sit through a year's worth of stationary bike highlights? "This is me pedaling for the first time. I was so nervous! This is me pedaling in February. See how much faster I'm going? See how sweaty I got? Just wait 'til you see me pedaling in June!"

I don't know if you know about it, but there's something called the internet, and on it there are some attractive "mummy bloggers" who indeed spend a lot of time photographing and videoing themselves to demonstrate to the world how perfect, and perfectly narcissistic, they are.

I wouldn't want to sit through a year of stationary bike highlights, but there's no evidence the husband asked for it. Maybe she's that much of a narcissist. Or maybe she wanted to show him how at first she was skeptical of the present but that it came to be very useful and important to her.

When people ask "what were they thinking?" about the creators of the Peloton ad, what they don't realise is how much their own prejudice has shaped their interpretation. They weren't thinking the same things as the regressive left, that's for sure, because their brains aren't trained to find patriarchal abuse in everything and anything.

 

[Metaphor]

So, why are all heterosexual men so shallow and so uniform in their tastes? Why do you get angry at women who build muscle mass? What's wrong with you?

We are not. We do not. Nothing.

Arctish is not "all heterosexual men".

If my memory is valid on this issue. Arctish is woman.

Ah, I see. So that makes it significantly worse. Arctish is a woman who thinks exercise is for men, and fat women.

 

[Metaphor]

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"




Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

So we’ve graduated from several Twitter reactions to the entire left-wing?

I said the regressive left, not 'the entire left wing', but since the regressive-Twitter-left's idiotic mental ejaculations have already been echoed here, there's obviously a non-Twitter regressive left who also think exactly the same thing.

 

[Metaphor]

Although the regressive left has lost its mind over this ad, I can imagine how it could be worse. Imagine if the woman had started the commercial overweight.

You talk about his "already skinny wife". Do you think the only reason for a woman to exercise is to lose weight? Why have you projected that on to the man in the commercial? What's wrong with you? Do you run into gyms screaming "you're already skinny! Get off the treadmill!"




Evidently it was to let the regressive left project their every fantasy about the patriarchy onto an inkblot.

So we’ve graduated from several Twitter reactions to the entire left-wing?

Apparently non-random small samples provide rigorous and reliable information about entire amorphous populations.

No, I took a census at a regressive left meeting. All of them believed in the patriarchy, and some of them also wrote 'censuses are patriarchy' on their response form.

 

[Playball40]

1. Chris Chibnall is not "destroying their beloved franchise"
2. Regardless, there is no need to threaten the ACTOR'S LIFE FFS.
3. The Tsuranga Conundrum...……..well ok, I got nothing.

Sadly both actors are getting crap online about it, but anyone "famous" gets crap on the internet...internet trolls live for this kind of shit. People called for Jody Whittaker's death for crying out loud, people 'claiming' to be Doctor Who fans.

Jodie, not Jody.

However, what makes you think someone can't be a Doctor Who fan (or ex-fan) and not have an irrational reaction to the actors, who are the public face of Chris Chibnall destroying their beloved franchise and mutilating its corpse?

If somebody wanted to mount an argument that some creative artists deserve vigilante execution for execrable output, I'd encourage them to exhibit 'The Tsuranga Conundrum' as their opening salvo.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

But the woman in the Peloton ad has an unusual reaction to it, and that invites speculation.

She is nervous because spinning classes are notoriously tough, and it is embarrassing for some if they can't make it through the class. Which then plays into my original response to the commercial. Why did a guy buy a $2,500+ exercise spinner for his wife... a person that apparently wasn't into cycling or spinning or potentially not even in great cardiac shape?!

I don't know who the add is aimed at exactly, the males to buy one for the females, to the females to convince them they want one even though they don't cycle? But it is definitely advertising to people that don't think they want one. Her reaction was shock with a hint of happiness when she sees the Peloton trainer... which is talking to people that wouldn't have thought of buying one. Men and women alike can be thinking, "I can relate to her, I wouldn't have wanted that for Xmas." Then she has an enormous religious transformation by using it, though clearly not wanting to at first. People love the idea of arriving at the end of the montage, without having to actually do the work. Damn, I need one of those things!

This isn't the same sort of Peloton commercial you see while watching professional cycling.

 

[Metaphor]

I completely agree that threatening actor's lives is beyond the pale.

Chris Chibnall is destroying my beloved franchise, but The Doctor is stronger than any one man's gross incompetence. When the reigns are returned to a showrunner with talent and vision, Doctor Who will be rescued.

1. Chris Chibnall is not "destroying their beloved franchise"
2. Regardless, there is no need to threaten the ACTOR'S LIFE FFS.
3. The Tsuranga Conundrum...……..well ok, I got nothing.

Sadly both actors are getting crap online about it, but anyone "famous" gets crap on the internet...internet trolls live for this kind of shit. People called for Jody Whittaker's death for crying out loud, people 'claiming' to be Doctor Who fans.

Jodie, not Jody.

However, what makes you think someone can't be a Doctor Who fan (or ex-fan) and not have an irrational reaction to the actors, who are the public face of Chris Chibnall destroying their beloved franchise and mutilating its corpse?

If somebody wanted to mount an argument that some creative artists deserve vigilante execution for execrable output, I'd encourage them to exhibit 'The Tsuranga Conundrum' as their opening salvo.