Yes, we have reached that point in post-Obama America that a man buying his wife an exercise bike is verboten, lest he is called a cad or worse.
A Christmas ad for a Peloton exercise bike had social media users in an uproar.
In the spot, a beautiful, incredibly fit woman is seen coming down the stairs holding a small child’s hand while covering her eyes with her other hand.
When a man we presume to be her husband tells her to look, she removes her hand and happily exclaims, “A Peloton?!?”
A montage is then shown of her using the bike over the course of a year, concluding with her saying, “A year ago, I didn’t realize how much this would change me.”
“Thank you.” she then tells her husband, who was watching the documentation on video.
Never mind that she looked just as fit the day she received the exercise bike as a gift.
Vice called the ad “a 30-second tale of one woman’s desperate journey into wellness hell,” insisting that the spot is “absolutely not OK.”
“Her grim motivation that pushes her to drag herself out of bed combined with exclaiming at the camera how blatantly, inexplicably nervous the Peloton makes her paint a bleak portrait of a woman in the thrall of a machine designed to erode her spirit as it sculpts her quads,” wrote Vice staff writer Katie Way. “Titled ‘The Gift That Gives Back,’ the 30-second commercial is a mere glimpse into the barrage of horror its protagonist, a young wife and mother, slogs through daily.”
Social media went into overdrive commenting on the Peloton ad.
“Nothing says ‘maybe you should lose a few pounds’ like gifting your already rail-thin life partner a Peloton,” tweeted the Washington Examiner’s Siraj Hashmi.
Nothing says “maybe you should lose a few pounds” like gifting your already rail thin life partner a Peloton pic.twitter.com/E2M9gFdD5A
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) December 2, 2019
But then, to taking offense is an equal opportunity occasion in today’s woke society, which prompted rail-thin skinny people to protest:
I’m skinny as a rail and still workout. Why? For my health. Skinny people workout too!
— ??Chrissy ???✈️ (@radiovet23) December 2, 2019
Comedian Eva Victor did a hilarious parody video of the ad, ripping the poor husband to shreds as she asks what message does it send to buy an exercise bike.
*Caution: Strong Language
when my husband gets me a Peleton for Christmas …….. pic.twitter.com/Z2d3ewMhPu
— Eva Victor (@evaandheriud) December 2, 2019
As seen above, it wasn’t just the husband taking heat, as the woman came under fire for being a little too committed to being healthy. One thing is certain, with the advent of social media we’ll never be the same.
Here’s a sampling of other responses.
Unpopular opinion: the Peloton ad is pretty much just a normal commercial for an exercise bike and the collective freak out over it is way weirder and creepier than the ad itself
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 3, 2019
But it’s an ad… for the bike… obviously the character in the ad is going to be excited about the product being advertised
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 3, 2019
I’m super confused by the “outrage” too. The internet can be really stupid.
— Adam (@AdamThinks123) December 3, 2019
Sorry to shake things up but I’m excited to announce I’m throwing my hat in the ring and joining the presidential race and running on the single issue platform to jail everyone involved in the pitching, scripting, acting, shooting, and approval of the Peloton ad.
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) December 2, 2019
We all need to treasure the things that bring us together as a nation, as a people. Collectively hating on this Peloton ad is that thing. pic.twitter.com/UQtUU4CCQt
— Renee Klahr (@reneeklahr) December 2, 2019
I had to block Peloton ads following the one that stated, “THIS is why you get up every morning.” (And her little kid is right there! But she is CLEARLY talking about her love of a … stationary bicycle. Jeez Louise, man, it scared the hell outta me! It was Stepfordian!)
— Katzwhisker (@katzwhisker) December 3, 2019
I want the Peloton ad where someone piles clothes on it for a year and takes pictures of the pile’s growth and feels just fine about it
— BUM CHILLUPS (@edsbs) December 2, 2019
The only comment I have on that Peloton ad is that there’s no way that child is vaccinated
— Rachel McCarthy James (@rmccarthyjames) December 2, 2019
[peloton ad meeting]
Ad Exec: A weight loss journey.
CMO: Go on…
Ad Exec: But instead of featuring actual customers who’ve transformed their lives, we hire a model already in amazing shape?
CMO: Make it happen.
[twelve hours later] pic.twitter.com/Cx56YNRrRb
— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth) December 2, 2019
i actually think that the real story of the ad is that she forgot to buy her husband a gift so she made a fake video compilation of all the times she allegedly used the peloton he got her last year
— Erin War on Christmas Ryan (@morninggloria) December 2, 2019
True , almost as stupid as when the chick buys matching keychains, the dude buys a new GMC Suv and new GMC Truck (100 thousand +/-) and she picks the truck(the gift he bought for him self) and she loved it…and then he says he likes the suv, and everyone pukes…
— Hannity.shawn (@hannity_shawn) December 3, 2019
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Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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