There’s no doubt that the Peloton ad is sexist. We all know the ad where the wife gets a new Peloton bike from her husband for Christmas and documents her journey to fitness.
The controversy over it has taken over the internet, from news articles to parodies on Twitter. Peloton has responded and defended their ad.
What I’m wondering is why this ad in particular is sparking controversy when these tactics are used in almost every advertisement. Ads directed at children reinforce gender norms, women’s bodies are used to sell products along with many other negative stereotypes.
In the last few days, countless articles featuring headlines such as “Peloton actress speaks out…” or “Peloton Husband Speaks Out About Controversial Ad” have been written. Giving recognition and time to those actors in the commercial, possibly giving them acting opportunities in the future.
With articles like this, we’re keeping the brand name Peloton in our heads even if we’re making fun of it. Peloton is using this attention to their advantage to get people to talk about their product even more.
The Peloton husband, Sean Hunter, has even changed his Instagram username to “pelotonhusband.” This nickname gives him name recognition and brings more people to his social media and in turn have more people become aware of him.
That old saying where “bad publicity is good publicity” is working in this situation for them. In the days following their ad their stocks have dropped but are climbing back up as it gets closer to the holidays.
As more people talk about the ad, the more people are learning about the brand who may not have heard of it before. With this timing being right before the holidays, they will most likely sell a lot of products.
Since the backlash, I think I’ve seen this advertisement play more before it took over the internet.
I don’t think sexism in advertisements will change any time soon. Companies see that using content that’s shocking or risqué works for them because it causes people to talk about their products even more.
These companies know that when we focus on something for weeks on end, they will continue to use those tactics in the future and reinforce negative stereotypes and ideals.
I understand the gut reaction to call Peloton out for their sexist commercial and make fun of it. If we want to change anything, people need to call all companies out when they use tactics like this to reinforce those negative ideals, because they’re in most advertisements, not just Peloton’s.
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @HindbergNicole
Jayson
"There’s no doubt that the Peloton ad is sexist." This is journalism? There's objectively plenty of doubt on this topic. When I saw the ad, I saw a husband give his (already fit) wife a gift that gave her alone time to do an activity she loved... she didn't seem bemused, put down, or show consternation around the gift. Aren't you being a bit presumptuous to assume that giving a woman an exercise gift is an act of misogyny? What if he gave her lingerie... would you go and say that, too, is sexist because it just reinforces gender stereotypes of submission to a man's physical needs? This article doesn't employ any depth of critical thought into the "why" something is as you're stating it to "obviously" be. My dream gift is to receive a bicycle for Xmas (is that, too, inappropriate because it's reinforcing a "gender norm"?)