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Peloton ad
Replies
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My OH and I were watching the latest SNL Cold open, - towards the end "Melania" comes on and give a shoutout to Peloton. I asked my OH if he was familiar with the controversy, and he wasn't really, so I dug up clips like this:
Seems like the Today Show guys didn't get it controversy but the women, while not outraged by the ad, didn't care for it.
However, everyone is talking about it, so this might turn out to be a positive for Peloton in the long run.
Also, genius of the Ryan Reynold's people to put the "Peloton Wife" in their gin commercial - that is getting a lot of buzz as well. I'd certainly had no brand awareness before yesterday.6 -
Consumers don't like staged testimonials and imaginary transformations. Consumers like real transformation.
"A year ago I didn't realize how much this would change me" but we don't see any change. There's no evidence to support that this machine is for anything other than fitness in the ad. It was a fail and the numbers already reflect that. Someone or a group didn't think this campaign through when they slapped it together. The handwriting is already on the wall. They'll have to start over and try to rebuild consumer trust.3 -
I don't know thing one about advertising.
But I know I am highly susceptible to diet and fitness advertising. Any time I see an infomercial, shopping presentation, or ad for a workout program or equipment I either seriously consider buying it and then have to force myself to remember I'm poor, or I have a moment of regret immediately knowing I can't afford the product. I've bought some pretty silly overpriced crap in my time!
My only reactions to recent Peloton ads have been eyerolls. When I think logically about the product, I totally get why some people decide it's worth the $$$ and I think it would be fun to have. But their campaign over the last couple of years has just been cringeworthy to me. I suppose Im not in their target demographic I guess, but there are lots of products I can't afford whose ads don't give me that reaction. They just seem really pretentious to me, too obviously selling a cheesy, fake lifestyle. You are supposed to make me WANT the fake lifestyle, and I don't think they do that. That's just me Monday morning armchair quarterbacking, of course
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Diatonic12 wrote: »Consumers don't like staged testimonials and imaginary transformations. Consumers like real transformation.
"A year ago I didn't realize how much this would change me" but we don't see any change. There's no evidence to support that this machine is for anything other than fitness in the ad. It was a fail and the numbers already reflect that. Someone or a group didn't think this campaign through when they slapped it together. The handwriting is already on the wall. They'll have to start over and try to rebuild consumer trust.
You know that all advertising is staged to some degree or other, right?
Like it or not, everyone is talking about Peloton right before Christmas. I'm not willing to decide if it's good or bad at this point. Too early to tell.11 -
Diatonic12 wrote: »Consumers don't like staged testimonials and imaginary transformations. Consumers like real transformation.
"A year ago I didn't realize how much this would change me" but we don't see any change. There's no evidence to support that this machine is for anything other than fitness in the ad. It was a fail and the numbers already reflect that. Someone or a group didn't think this campaign through when they slapped it together. The handwriting is already on the wall. They'll have to start over and try to rebuild consumer trust.
This is my problem with it too. It’s just a terrible ad. I wonder if people would be so up in arms about it if it actually showed her changing for the better in some way. There are so many ways they could have done this, like showing her winning a bike race or something (and adding a clip of some sort of her admiring her old bike trophies from highschool). I was like “what the *kitten* is she so emotional about”.4 -
Diatonic12 wrote: »The group think tank confirmational bias and dynamics of this ad will be studied in boardrooms all across the world for years to come.
The struggle was real. It was scary. She had to crawl out of bed and walk into her living room and get on her foo foo bike while her husband slept through it all. The ad was about physical fitness but at the end of one year we could see no visible side effects. Bottomline: the authenticity for the branding just wasn't there and you're left holding the bag after one year's time. No visible physical benefits after slapping your hard earned cash on the barrelhead. Consumers are far smarter than thoughtless imaginary ad campaigns but it tanked just the same.
What visible physical benefits would there be necessarily? It's cycling. I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and started after I lost weight. When I started training and racing there were no visible physical changes in my body from when I started training to racing over the course of a few years. But I could put down more watts and go further and faster. I was a much better rider after three years of training and racing than when I started...but I was 180 Lbs when I started and 180 Lbs when I stopped racing and there weren't any visible physical changes to my body.13 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »The group think tank confirmational bias and dynamics of this ad will be studied in boardrooms all across the world for years to come.
The struggle was real. It was scary. She had to crawl out of bed and walk into her living room and get on her foo foo bike while her husband slept through it all. The ad was about physical fitness but at the end of one year we could see no visible side effects. Bottomline: the authenticity for the branding just wasn't there and you're left holding the bag after one year's time. No visible physical benefits after slapping your hard earned cash on the barrelhead. Consumers are far smarter than thoughtless imaginary ad campaigns but it tanked just the same.
What visible physical benefits would there be necessarily? It's cycling. I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and started after I lost weight. When I started training and racing there were no visible physical changes in my body from when I started training to racing over the course of a few years. But I could put down more watts and go further and faster. I was a much better rider after three years of training and racing than when I started...but I was 180 Lbs when I started and 180 Lbs when I stopped racing and there weren't any visible physical changes to my body.
Agree, she's normal weight, so probably minimal apparent physical change. Now look at her VO2 Max, blood markers, etc and see what happened there.
Also, we don't know the husband is sleeping through her workout. He may be out running 10 miles or at the gym lifting weights.5 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »The group think tank confirmational bias and dynamics of this ad will be studied in boardrooms all across the world for years to come.
The struggle was real. It was scary. She had to crawl out of bed and walk into her living room and get on her foo foo bike while her husband slept through it all. The ad was about physical fitness but at the end of one year we could see no visible side effects. Bottomline: the authenticity for the branding just wasn't there and you're left holding the bag after one year's time. No visible physical benefits after slapping your hard earned cash on the barrelhead. Consumers are far smarter than thoughtless imaginary ad campaigns but it tanked just the same.
What visible physical benefits would there be necessarily? It's cycling. I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and started after I lost weight. When I started training and racing there were no visible physical changes in my body from when I started training to racing over the course of a few years. But I could put down more watts and go further and faster. I was a much better rider after three years of training and racing than when I started...but I was 180 Lbs when I started and 180 Lbs when I stopped racing and there weren't any visible physical changes to my body.
Agree, she's normal weight, so probably minimal apparent physical change. Now look at her VO2 Max, blood markers, etc and see what happened there.
Also, we don't know the husband is sleeping through her workout. He may be out running 10 miles or at the gym lifting weights.
Or down at the local bar bragging about his 'hawt' wife.3 -
I saw the commercial...... Maybe I'm just the patriarchy, but muhhhh.... nothing interesting....7
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RelCanonical wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »Consumers don't like staged testimonials and imaginary transformations. Consumers like real transformation.
"A year ago I didn't realize how much this would change me" but we don't see any change. There's no evidence to support that this machine is for anything other than fitness in the ad. It was a fail and the numbers already reflect that. Someone or a group didn't think this campaign through when they slapped it together. The handwriting is already on the wall. They'll have to start over and try to rebuild consumer trust.
This is my problem with it too. It’s just a terrible ad. I wonder if people would be so up in arms about it if it actually showed her changing for the better in some way. There are so many ways they could have done this, like showing her winning a bike race or something (and adding a clip of some sort of her admiring her old bike trophies from highschool). I was like “what the *kitten* is she so emotional about”.
It was awkward and outdated from start to finish and that's not been lost on the shareholders and investors. When you try to bring blitz to the masses they want something useful that will improve their lives and they want to see it.1 -
Diatonic12 wrote: »https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-stock-price-15-billion-wiped-from-value-in-3-days-amid-backlash-1028743585
They'd do well to take the ad down and never show it again. Back to the drawing board, they're starting over at square one. A cautionary tale for years to come.
I can honestly say that I've never been influenced by an advertisement for a fitness product and have always made my purchasing decisions based solely on peer reviewed clinical studies. **
** This post has been brought to you by the makers of ShakeWeight.
ShakeWeight - Now available in designer colors from retailers near you!
Quantities are limited, so shop early and shop often!!
... batteries not included6 -
Motorsheen wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-stock-price-15-billion-wiped-from-value-in-3-days-amid-backlash-1028743585
They'd do well to take the ad down and never show it again. Back to the drawing board, they're starting over at square one. A cautionary tale for years to come.
I can honestly say that I've never been influenced by an advertisement for a fitness product and have always made my purchasing decisions based solely on peer reviewed clinical studies. **
** This post has been brought to you by the makers of ShakeWeight.
ShakeWeight - Now available in designer colors from retailers near you!
Quantities are limited, so shop early and shop often!!
... batteries not included
That might not be a ShakeWeight...
6 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Motorsheen wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-stock-price-15-billion-wiped-from-value-in-3-days-amid-backlash-1028743585
They'd do well to take the ad down and never show it again. Back to the drawing board, they're starting over at square one. A cautionary tale for years to come.
I can honestly say that I've never been influenced by an advertisement for a fitness product and have always made my purchasing decisions based solely on peer reviewed clinical studies. **
** This post has been brought to you by the makers of ShakeWeight.
ShakeWeight - Now available in designer colors from retailers near you!
Quantities are limited, so shop early and shop often!!
... batteries not included
That might not be a ShakeWeight...
Oh Dear....
you just might be right.3 -
healingnurtrer wrote: »Diatonic12 wrote: »This was my favorite description of the ad: “ ... a 116 lb woman’s YEARLONG fitness journey to becoming a 112 lb woman”.
Spot on. This is what gave me the biggest pinch about the ad. Looking scared to death at 116 lbs and basically looking exactly the same one year later while raving on and on about her imaginary positive side effects. I would've looked twice if she'd gained some muscle mass.
The benefits could have been mental health related. Cardio helps keep my anxiety in check.
I feel bad for the people who made the ad. It probably was a good ad for the target audience. People just find amusement in mocking. I wonder if they'll ever get hired again. Oh my sensitive heart...
Yes, regular exercise is crucial for my mental health.2 -
Here's a thought experiment, maybe two.
As background: Some types of markets segment into high-likelihood or frequent consumers, and routine lower-level/occasional consumers. A common strategy is to go after that first group, the high-likelihood/frequent group. This is sometimes talked about as going after the 20% of consumers that account for 80% of the consumption, though the percentages aren't necessarily that dramatic.
So:
If you were creating an advertising campaign designed to go after the market segment that disproportionately consumes new kinds of exercise equipment, how would you structure the ads? Think about who these people are, who they aspire to be, etc. (The marketing organizations will have researched questions like this.)
More pointedly, assume you were going to structure an advertising campaign to hook people who either are, or are on the slippery slope to being, exercise bulimic (defined as people who feel compelled to exercise, to an excessive/unhealthy degree: Purging food is not inherently involved)**, or who are otherwise a little obsessive in their pursuit of the newest and most transformative exercise modality. How would you structure that advertising campaign?
Rhetorical questions: Thought experiment, like I said.
Bonus thought experiment: If you were going after a premium-price consumer (as we assume Peloton is), vs. a more mainstream consumer (maybe the Beachbody on Demand consumer, or something like that), vs. a frugal-budget consumer (advertising-supported fitness channels, say), how would your strategies differ?
Once again, talking about how advertising/marketing is targeted or could be targeted is not intended as disrespect to anyone who uses any of these products. People do what they do for their own reasons, which is a separate issue from how marketers try to target new consumers (or try to increase consumption by existing ones). If you have a Peloton and enjoy it, or love BOD, or find your Youtube exercise channel fun and effective, I think that's great. I do what I do for reasons that have little to do with how my activity is commonly marketed.
** Yes, that's a horrifying thought. Do you think that certain segments of the alcohol industry are not marketing intentionally to the consumer who drinks too much (possibly short of fully dyfunctional alcoholism, because their ideal consumer preferably has ongoing disposable income)?6 -
Here's a thought experiment, maybe two.
As background: Some types of markets segment into high-likelihood or frequent consumers, and routine lower-level/occasional consumers. A common strategy is to go after that first group, the high-likelihood/frequent group. This is sometimes talked about as going after the 20% of consumers that account for 80% of the consumption, though the percentages aren't necessarily that dramatic.
So:
If you were creating an advertising campaign designed to go after the market segment that disproportionately consumes new kinds of exercise equipment, how would you structure the ads? Think about who these people are, who they aspire to be, etc. (The marketing organizations will have researched questions like this.)
More pointedly, assume you were going to structure an advertising campaign to hook people who either are, or are on the slippery slope to being, exercise bulimic (defined as people who feel compelled to exercise, to an excessive/unhealthy degree: Purging food is not inherently involved)**, or who are otherwise a little obsessive in their pursuit of the newest and most transformative exercise modality. How would you structure that advertising campaign?
Rhetorical questions: Thought experiment, like I said.
Bonus thought experiment: If you were going after a premium-price consumer (as we assume Peloton is), vs. a more mainstream consumer (maybe the Beachbody on Demand consumer, or something like that), vs. a frugal-budget consumer (advertising-supported fitness channels, say), how would your strategies differ?
Once again, talking about how advertising/marketing is targeted or could be targeted is not intended as disrespect to anyone who uses any of these products. People do what they do for their own reasons, which is a separate issue from how marketers try to target new consumers (or try to increase consumption by existing ones). If you have a Peloton and enjoy it, or love BOD, or find your Youtube exercise channel fun and effective, I think that's great. I do what I do for reasons that have little to do with how my activity is commonly marketed.
** Yes, that's a horrifying thought. Do you think that certain segments of the alcohol industry are not marketing intentionally to the consumer who drinks too much (possibly short of fully dyfunctional alcoholism, because their ideal consumer preferably has ongoing disposable income)?
I have another post coming as to why I find this so amusing, but, just for fun (because I really don’t care), to me the issue is not they they are going after the market segment that they did. It is an expensive product. What struck me about it (and, again, we are watching tons of bad commercials this time of year, so this one is not particularly egregious), was positioning the Peloton as a product that is essential for happiness and a good life for people whose life is already pretty bleeping good.
I remember half-watching it (because I am usually at least one other thing when I watch TV), and it really didn’t hit me until the last couple of seconds how off-tone the whole thing was. It’s like an ad for a Lexus where some executive got it as a gift and then went on about how it changed his/her life because now he/she could drive the kids to school.
They just missed the mark.
And it goes to show that you never know what goofy thing Americans will latch on to and react to.
3 -
Here's a thought experiment, maybe two.
As background: Some types of markets segment into high-likelihood or frequent consumers, and routine lower-level/occasional consumers. A common strategy is to go after that first group, the high-likelihood/frequent group. This is sometimes talked about as going after the 20% of consumers that account for 80% of the consumption, though the percentages aren't necessarily that dramatic.
So:
If you were creating an advertising campaign designed to go after the market segment that disproportionately consumes new kinds of exercise equipment, how would you structure the ads? Think about who these people are, who they aspire to be, etc. (The marketing organizations will have researched questions like this.)
More pointedly, assume you were going to structure an advertising campaign to hook people who either are, or are on the slippery slope to being, exercise bulimic (defined as people who feel compelled to exercise, to an excessive/unhealthy degree: Purging food is not inherently involved)**, or who are otherwise a little obsessive in their pursuit of the newest and most transformative exercise modality. How would you structure that advertising campaign?
Rhetorical questions: Thought experiment, like I said.
Bonus thought experiment: If you were going after a premium-price consumer (as we assume Peloton is), vs. a more mainstream consumer (maybe the Beachbody on Demand consumer, or something like that), vs. a frugal-budget consumer (advertising-supported fitness channels, say), how would your strategies differ?
Once again, talking about how advertising/marketing is targeted or could be targeted is not intended as disrespect to anyone who uses any of these products. People do what they do for their own reasons, which is a separate issue from how marketers try to target new consumers (or try to increase consumption by existing ones). If you have a Peloton and enjoy it, or love BOD, or find your Youtube exercise channel fun and effective, I think that's great. I do what I do for reasons that have little to do with how my activity is commonly marketed.
** Yes, that's a horrifying thought. Do you think that certain segments of the alcohol industry are not marketing intentionally to the consumer who drinks too much (possibly short of fully dyfunctional alcoholism, because their ideal consumer preferably has ongoing disposable income)?
I have another post coming as to why I find this so amusing, but, just for fun (because I really don’t care), to me the issue is not they they are going after the market segment that they did. It is an expensive product. What struck me about it (and, again, we are watching tons of bad commercials this time of year, so this one is not particularly egregious), was positioning the Peloton as a product that is essential for happiness and a good life for people whose life is already pretty bleeping good.
I remember half-watching it (because I am usually at least one other thing when I watch TV), and it really didn’t hit me until the last couple of seconds how off-tone the whole thing was. It’s like an ad for a Lexus where some executive got it as a gift and then went on about how it changed his/her life because now he/she could drive the kids to school.
They just missed the mark.
And it goes to show that you never know what goofy thing Americans will latch on to and react to.
Truly, I don't have a presupposed answer to the thought experiment(s), BTW . . . still less do I mean to implicitly suggest that whatever the ad is trying to do, it's doing it right. I think it's tone-deaf at best, too. I'm also clearly not in their target demographic (whatever the heck that is).
To your bolded, I think they're kind of self-painted into a corner at the moment: They have a very expensive product: Average folks on a budget are unlikely to impulse-buy a $2K (plus $150 a year) fitness toy at Christmas. So, who will? Probably people whose lives are already pretty bleeping good.
It's common to try to pick off a premium-price market layer before targeting other audiences. (For those of us old enough to remember, Polaroid pretty much always did that with new generations of products, starting with the premium release, then adding lower price points later. Apple tends to do that in more recent times, perhaps not quite as starkly.)
How do you appeal to those premium-market people? Making people feel that it increases their potential for self-fulfillment is an option (because the blow-back from showing a fat person getting thin/fit in this context would be pertty awful, too). "Pretty person achieves self-actualization" is where this seems to be aiming (poorly).
My overall conclusion, as I previously said, is that we don't know how well they did until the holiday (and perhaps resolutioner) sales figures are in. Personally, I think marketing something like this is harder than a lot of comments in this thread imply. They want mass markets, I suspect, not some kind of niche "cyclists with busy schedules or dangerous streets or Winter weather" sub-group, to which one might make a more technical appeal; or the serious fitness-oriented market, which statistically also seems to be a narrow slice.
I don't have a dog in this fight. I just think it's academically interesting, as a case study.6 -
Reckoner68 wrote: »Maybe I am dead inside as the ad itself triggered no feelings whatsoever within me, I guess I'll have to search elsewhere for something to grant substance to this empty existence
That was basically my reaction. The search continues....1 -
When I first saw the ad, I was confused because the woman looked skinny to begin with, so I expected, at the end, to see some kind of change such as bulking up a little. The claim of 'life changing' without evidence was the most obvious fail.
On second viewing I noticed how overly-anxious she was to please her husband by appearing to like his gift--a gift that can be viewed as passive-aggressive way to say she needed to lose weight or something. She seemed desperate for approval in a way that makes the subsequent 'divorce' parody ad and the 'divorce' gin ad the exactly right sequels.
Kind of wondering how many women were in the focus groups for this ad, and what their demographics are.1 -
When I first saw the ad, I was confused because the woman looked skinny to begin with, so I expected, at the end, to see some kind of change such as bulking up a little. The claim of 'life changing' without evidence was the most obvious fail.
On second viewing I noticed how overly-anxious she was to please her husband by appearing to like his gift--a gift that can be viewed as passive-aggressive way to say she needed to lose weight or something. She seemed desperate for approval in a way that makes the subsequent 'divorce' parody ad and the 'divorce' gin ad the exactly right sequels.
Kind of wondering how many women were in the focus groups for this ad, and what their demographics are.
You don't bulk up cycling. The benefits of cycling are cardiovascular in nature. Getting into cycling was life changing for me...and there were no outward changes. I had already lost weight before I got into cycling...but my fitness level went through the roof when I started cycling on a regular basis. My blood work also improved and my hypertension was in check where as before it was still a bit elevated even with meds and having lost 40 Lbs. It was also a mental health boon. Beyond that, I started racing which gave me a huge confidence boost that I could once again be competitive and go tear it up for 50-100 miles.
Once upon a time I could barely walk the dog around my block for a 1/4 mile without being winded and exhausted. Pretty life changing.
I thought the commercial was pretty corny, but I think a lot of people are just looking to be offended by something as it seems to be all the rage.19
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