Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
Peloton ad
Replies
-
The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.9 -
cwolfman--if you are not already bulked up, cycling will usually bulk your quads a bit. I know this from doing triathlons in college.0
-
cwolfman--if you are not already bulked up, cycling will usually bulk your quads a bit. I know this from doing triathlons in college.
I've been cycling for years now...I haven't bulked up in the least. I have nice legs, but nobody would notice that in a picture or in a commercial...especially if I was wearing leggings or something...and I most definitely wouldn't describe them as "bulky."9 -
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)?
According to a business article I read, Peloton was surprised to find mostly “normal” middle income people bought the thing and the new ad campaign is targeted accordingly. Their previous ads showed people in aspirational living rooms next to waterfalls and that sort of thing.
So here’s my take on a theoretical Peloton ad targeted to get a middle income guy to buy his wife a Peloton for Christmas when she didn’t ask for one.
Ad starts the night before Christmas. Family is driving home from a kids’ Christmas recital of some kind. Dad is driving. The wife looks longingly out the window seemingly at the Christmas lights, but it’s really because they are passing the gym. Maybe make it really obvious by her checking a text from a less busy childless buddy saying they missed her at spin class, have a Merry Christmas. Husband glances over with love and concern for wife’s mood. Because he is not an idiot he knows what she’s thinking.
Cut to next morning when she is delighted to receive her very own Peloton. Instead of emphasizing how hard she had to work to get up extra early to use it, emphasize how it hardly cuts into her already busy schedule because she can do it whenever in the comfort of her own home. Show her laughing and chatting with friends on the bike. Otherwise we can follow the whole “thank you for changing my life for the better” arc of the failed commercial.
I notice when thinking about this what a fail the original commercial was. I own a stationary bike and use it regularly. It was free because someone was giving it away. It was originally something like a couple hundred bucks and has a heart monitor, calorie counter, timer, speedometer, incline and tension adjustments, and all that jazz. It works fine and I’ve burned many a calorie and increased my vo2 max on it just fine. The special benefits of a peloton for which you might be willing to shell out ten times as much money are not at all highlighted in their commercial.6 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.
<shrug> stock prices are reactionary and ephemeral, what matters is their sales and quarterly reports. If their sales increase their stock will increase over time. This sort of reactionary negativity tends to have a short burn time but the company brand will stick in people's heads. The long game might see them benefiting from this to be honest.
EDIT: Also
what dip?12 -
Never really noticed this commercial until the "controversy" hit the news; even then it only caught my attention because I had just told my spouse that a new squat rack was on my xmas wish list.3
-
Aaron_K123 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.
<shrug> stock prices are reactionary and ephemeral, what matters is their sales and quarterly reports. If their sales increase their stock will increase over time. This sort of reactionary negativity tends to have a short burn time but the company brand will stick in people's heads. The long game might see them benefiting from this to be honest.
EDIT: Also
what dip?
Exactly...3 -
** 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 believe that words like "goes down smooth" and "less filling" targets that segment of the beer drinking population. It means the product is suitable for binge drinking.1 -
** 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 believe that words like "goes down smooth" and "less filling" targets that segment of the beer drinking population. It means the product is suitable for binge drinking.
Back in the (I think) 1960s, there was a beer marketed with a tagline like "the beer to have, when you're having more than one." At the time, wildly successful. Cited in one of my grad marketing classes as an example of marketing to the frequent consumer.5 -
Hmm - just watched the ad. After reading the thread I expected to be offended or feel more shock. I actually felt no reaction whatsoever to the ad. Nothing cringey or crazy. I didn’t think the house was extravagant - I kept hearing ‘mansion’ - my biggest takeaway - is how different we all see the same ad.
🤷♀️ 🤷♀️ 🤷♀️10 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.
<shrug> stock prices are reactionary and ephemeral, what matters is their sales and quarterly reports. If their sales increase their stock will increase over time. This sort of reactionary negativity tends to have a short burn time but the company brand will stick in people's heads. The long game might see them benefiting from this to be honest.
EDIT: Also
what dip?
Agree that the immediate reactive price dip means little
I don’t know that it will hurt long term, but I don’t think it will help either. To me there are two things that made this different: one, there was an element of ridicule to the negative reactions that is going to linger; two, the audience they are targeting was supposed to see this as a status symbol—oh, you got that cool new Peloton?—instead the first question will be—oh is that the one in the commercial?
I think it could break either way.
The article below cites a bigger challenge than the commercial: (although I also think the guy quoted is exaggerating fit his own publicity).
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/peloton-tumbles-over-6-short-191722815.html
This is what happens in the fitness business. Peloton is already cutting some fees and planning cheaper models.
And IMO,that is why they made that type of commercial in the first place. They needed to promote this as some unique, life-changing experience—otherwise it’s just another exercise bike.
I think the challenge will be for them to keep introducing new and better features to stay at a premium level. It will be fun to watch.
4 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
No. That's specifically brand awareness, and it is a type of ad campaign, but it is not the purpose of all advertising. Everybody knows what Coca-Cola and McDonald's are - they're actually both dangerously close at any moment to being too well known, used as generic nouns for a type of product instead of as brands - and guess how much advertising they both do, not just in raw dollars, but even relative to their revenue.
I would actually be surprised if Peloton is particularly concerned with brand awareness as a strategy. They are a luxury product. Now, they do have the interesting position that they could look into turning this around if they stay on people's minds long enough for them to develop a more entry level product, possibly with a little campaign that gives the appearance of integrating the feedback from the last set of ads. It sounds like they might even be trying to force the process by emphasizing their new financing options for their products. More likely though that companies that already have the products in line will try to eat their lunch.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 find this interesting. 20% of Peloton's sales are to those under 75K in household income, so 80% is above that, which coincidentally is the household income associated with increasing income no longer changing happiness. Granted, Peloton is selling to people that have it pretty good, but they don't have to bank on selling to people that feel pretty good. I actually have no numbers what-so-ever on it, but I would not be surprised at all if exercise bulimia is disproportionate in those upper incomes.
Now I'm even wondering if Peloton accidentally mixed messages too much. They might have been trying to look more middle class, but perhaps the people writing the ad copy were also still trying to - or just too stuck in the mindset of - selling to executive wives. It certainly would be the profile of the woman who's nervous about her position in life based on 4 vanity pounds.3 -
I find the complaints out there weird myself.
It was 7 years ago I received a smith machine / pulley cable machine combo for Christmas and my birthday from family. I ended up over the years switching to working with a squat rack, and now with my boys being older, just going to a gym. Still, I'd say it might be the best gift I ever received.5 -
magnusthenerd wrote: »75K in household income...which coincidentally is the household income associated with increasing income no longer changing happiness.
Really? Is that statistic for the United States or the world as a whole? Because assuming a two adult household where both adults work that would be only 32.5k a year per adult which is not even a dollar about minimum wage (at least where I am). Now I realize the national average minimum wage is lower but still, that statistic seems really low to me. If my household income was 75k a year I would definitely feel less stressed and therefore happier if I had more than that.
Are you sure that statistic was household income and not just income period? I would believe that once an individual hits 75k a year that more than that wouldn't have a huge impact on happiness...but a household? Raise a family on 75k a year and pretty sure you'd appreciate more money.4 -
Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.1 -
Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.
These are most likely the ones with under $75k income that are buying the product.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.
<shrug> stock prices are reactionary and ephemeral, what matters is their sales and quarterly reports. If their sales increase their stock will increase over time. This sort of reactionary negativity tends to have a short burn time but the company brand will stick in people's heads. The long game might see them benefiting from this to be honest.
EDIT: Also
what dip?
Presumably the initial dip Dec 2 - Dec 5. I don't think a comparison to its all time high is valid, however.
0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »rheddmobile wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »The point of advertisement isn't to be in tune with the culture and blandly polite, the point of advertisment is to get people to talk about the product and repeatedly drop the brand name all over the place both in conversation and online post so people who have never heard of the company then hear about the company. The more eyes they get on their product the more likely they are to make sales which is what they care about.
I'd say that this is a pretty fabulous advertisement because two days ago I'd never heard of this company and now I hear about them a lot and I know that they make an exercise bike. Question is did they just stumble on it or was this actually crafted to elicit this response intentionally.
Considering their stock lost something like 1.5 billion dollars in three days it probably wasn’t intentional. It’s not true that all publicity is good publicity.
<shrug> stock prices are reactionary and ephemeral, what matters is their sales and quarterly reports. If their sales increase their stock will increase over time. This sort of reactionary negativity tends to have a short burn time but the company brand will stick in people's heads. The long game might see them benefiting from this to be honest.
EDIT: Also
what dip?
Presumably the initial dip Dec 2 - Dec 5. I don't think a comparison to its all time high is valid, however.
Especially when it's a company in a relatively new market, a company that has been growing very fast, and one whose first public offering (target price $29) was in September 2019. Jeesh.0 -
Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.
Yeah but I'm pretty sure the median would be happier if they made a bit more money.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.
Yeah but I'm pretty sure the median would be happier if they made a bit more money.
Magnus's point - as I understood it - is being lost: That after a perhaps (?) surprisingly low level of income that takes care of basic necessities with fair assurance, more money is not the strongest determinant of life satisfaction, according to research.
Whatever that income level is, a marketer sees there a consumer who'll be likely to spend some amount of money chasing that life satisfaction. This is a desirable target consumer.
If that consumer doesn't really explicitly realize they're unsatisfied, and doesn't really know what would improve things, that's a potentially manipulatable consumer: Very useful.
Speculation is that's behind this ad strategy . . . which is a somewhat separate issue from whether the ad is successful in its attempt to work this strategy.2 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.
Yeah but I'm pretty sure the median would be happier if they made a bit more money.
Ah, I misread and thought you were questioning what the median income was.
I think you are right that the happiness thing is using $60-$75K for an individual for happiness. Here's a fuller discussion:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/28/heres-the-ideal-income-for-the-typical-american-family.html
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-exactly-how-much-money-you-need-to-be-truly-happy-earning-more-wont-help-2018-02-140 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Median household income, also showing variation between states and metro areas.
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/09/us-median-household-income-up-in-2018-from-2017.html
Remember there are lots of single-worker households.
Yeah but I'm pretty sure the median would be happier if they made a bit more money.
Ah, I misread and thought you were questioning what the median income was.
I think you are right that the happiness thing is using $60-$75K for an individual for happiness. Here's a fuller discussion:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/28/heres-the-ideal-income-for-the-typical-american-family.html
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-exactly-how-much-money-you-need-to-be-truly-happy-earning-more-wont-help-2018-02-14
No worries. No I accept the median income figures and I also accept that as someone who lives in one of the highest cost of living areas I have bias that makes me feel like 75k is not a lot of money that may not apply other places. That said I still feel that "household" implies that you have dependants and that 75k total income with dependants is a state where you would probably feel some relief of stress and therefore happiness with additional income.
But yeah from a biased perspective from a high cost area you can make 3x the median and still feel like the belt is a bit tight.1 -
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
I just saw the ad for the first time and I can't see what the big deal is either.3 -
This has been a fun thread!2
-
BuiltLikeAPeep wrote: »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
I just saw the ad for the first time and I can't see what the big deal is either.
are you a dude?0 -
BuiltLikeAPeep wrote: »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
I just saw the ad for the first time and I can't see what the big deal is either.
are you a dude?
If you look at her profile, it says female.3 -
Why should it matter?
Logic is not impaired by gender. A dude is just as capable of making a logically sound assessment of an ad as is a woman.
Opinions are not, nor ever should be off limits based on gender.
That doesn't mean anyone gets to FORCE another to do something. But we are all free to have an opinion. We are not disallowed based on some metric arbitrarily applied by others.BuiltLikeAPeep wrote: »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
I just saw the ad for the first time and I can't see what the big deal is either.
are you a dude?
11 -
No, I'm not a dude, but my husband, friends and family often tell me I think like a dude lol.
Ok- here's my opinion of the ad when I first saw it. I assumed (yeah yeah i know) that she ASKED for the Peleton for Christmas. Why? Because that's the kind of things i ask for. Even though she's thin, maybe she can't walk a quarter of a mile without getting winded, maybe she wants to train and eventually enter a race. I don't know- I've got bigger problems than a fictional husband giving his fictional wife a Peleton and what exactly he means by it. People are too quick to get offended by EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE. Life is too short to stress over nothing.18 -
BuiltLikeAPeep wrote: »No, I'm not a dude, but my husband, friends and family often tell me I think like a dude lol.
Ok- here's my opinion of the ad when I first saw it. I assumed (yeah yeah i know) that she ASKED for the Peleton for Christmas. Why? Because that's the kind of things i ask for. Even though she's thin, maybe she can't walk a quarter of a mile without getting winded, maybe she wants to train and eventually enter a race. I don't know- I've got bigger problems than a fictional husband giving his fictional wife a Peleton and what exactly he means by it. People are too quick to get offended by EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE. Life is too short to stress over nothing.
Yeah, I'm not sure where the indicator is that it was a total surprise. I saw it like a red ryder rifle thing, where it's what they wanted but didn't expect to get, in this case probably because it's so grossly expensive lol.6
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions