Peloton riding downhill
A moment of silence for the marketing department jobs lost due to this major advertising flub. This week, Peloton’s stock has fallen nearly 10%, thanks to the release of an uncouth holiday advertisement. The commercial, titled “The Gift That Gives Back,” depicts a wife who embarks on her fitness journey after being gifted–you guessed it–a Peloton bike by her husband.
Now critics are calling it “sexist” and tone deaf for featuring a woman who was already super fit, claiming the messaging of the advertisement places an undue burden on women to meet body standards. Though it originally aired a month ago in Canada, online criticism only came to a head this week as the company was increasingly called out, memed, and satirized by online comedians and various publications. Despite the stock drop and demands for the ad to be taken down, Peloton stands behind the commercial.