Controversial Peloton Bike Ad

[Lamb]

A lot of us in the US may have seen the Peloton bike ad where the husband buys his pretty, young, fit wife a new Peloton exercise bike and she uses her cell phone video to document her year of progress. Hint: She's still pretty, young and fit at the end.

Peloton's stocks have fallen because of the internet backlash of the ad where people call it sexist and dystopian.

As someone who always loved to cycle I never viewed the ad as anything more than trying to reach other people who enjoy cycling as a form of exercise. Until now, that is. The internet reminds us that she never asked for this bike and seems so intent on pleasing her husband (maintaining her looks for him since obviously that's what he expects after buying her the bike).

Back in my cycling days I would have LOVED a Peloton bike. These days, now that my knees hurt when I try to ride my bike I would be very mad if my husband spent that money on a bike I couldn't use and my self-esteem would drop wondering if the purchase meant more than it probably would.

Have you viewed the commercial? Do you think the internet is going overboard with their criticism?

 

[NewCreation435]

An exercise company trying to reach people who exercise. Who would have thought. . .

 

[Josiah]

Absurd.

One can use a bike to STAY is shape; exercise is NOT exclusively to GET fit.

 

[tango]

Gotta love the internet, the place where people who need to find something, anything, to be offended by can come together.

It's a useful tip though. When I attended my friend's daughter's wedding the champagne they served wasn't the one I preferred. Maybe I should take action against him for offending me so badly.

 

[vince284]

I say, down with gift giving!

 

[Josiah]

...people who need to find something, anything, to be offended by can come together.

"I'm offended" seems to be the left's knee-jerk response to anything they don't like but have no rationale for their chosen reaction. It simply cuts off all conversation since to the left, MY FEELINGS are all that matters... there is no right or wrong, truth or falsehood, just how I choose to FEEL.

And yes, mutually chosen feelings CAN bind people together - including offense, hatred, etc.

 

[tango]

"I'm offended" seems to be the left's knee-jerk response to anything they don't like but have no rationale for their chosen reaction. It simply cuts off all conversation since to the left, MY FEELINGS are all that matters... there is no right or wrong, truth or falsehood, just how I choose to FEEL.

And yes, mutually chosen feelings CAN bind people together - including offense, hatred, etc.

It's certainly easier than coming up with a coherent counterargument.

 

[psalms 91]

I dont see anything wrong with it but I do wonder about the husband who would give his wife this and I imagine she would think it says you need to lose a few pounds. A rather dangerous gift I think

 

[zecryphon_nomdiv]

A lot of us in the US may have seen the Peloton bike ad where the husband buys his pretty, young, fit wife a new Peloton exercise bike and she uses her cell phone video to document her year of progress. Hint: She's still pretty, young and fit at the end.

Peloton's stocks have fallen because of the internet backlash of the ad where people call it sexist and dystopian.

As someone who always loved to cycle I never viewed the ad as anything more than trying to reach other people who enjoy cycling as a form of exercise. Until now, that is. The internet reminds us that she never asked for this bike and seems so intent on pleasing her husband (maintaining her looks for him since obviously that's what he expects after buying her the bike).

Back in my cycling days I would have LOVED a Peloton bike. These days, now that my knees hurt when I try to ride my bike I would be very mad if my husband spent that money on a bike I couldn't use and my self-esteem would drop wondering if the purchase meant more than it probably would.

Have you viewed the commercial? Do you think the internet is going overboard with their criticism?

I've seen this ad and we don't know that she didn't ask for this bike. The internet loves to make White Men the new evil, responsible for all the negative feels they have and everything that's wrong with the world. The internet needs to stop projecting their issues onto others and deal with their problems by not going on the internet to complain about the perceived social injustices they "see."

 

[Lamb]

I've seen this ad and we don't know that she didn't ask for this bike. The internet loves to make White Men the new evil, responsible for all the negative feels they have and everything that's wrong with the world. The internet needs to stop projecting their issues onto others and deal with their problems by not going on the internet to complain about the perceived social injustices they "see."

But that's their armchair activism, don't you know. They don't even have to move from their computers to fight the man!

 

[tango]

On reflection I think the man deserves all the criticisms he got. Not only is he clearly misogynistic, assuming the woman would appreciate a gift of HIS choosing. He's probably homophobic as well, assuming his wife is still attracted to him instead of to other women. Chances are there's some transphobia in there too, perhaps his wife is thinking of transitioning to become a man and he is trying to impose his heteronormative patriarchal dominance over her in expecting her to maintain a more feminine body shape (based on HIS concept of what femininity should look like, of course). For good measure his buying a piece of exercise equipment for his (presumably white) wife means that a person of color is deprived of the chance to own that piece of equipment.

Yep, white heterosexual men are the problem, no doubt about it. Ho ho ho, merry Christmas.

 

[Lamb]

On reflection I think the man deserves all the criticisms he got. Not only is he clearly misogynistic, assuming the woman would appreciate a gift of HIS choosing. He's probably homophobic as well, assuming his wife is still attracted to him instead of to other women. Chances are there's some transphobia in there too, perhaps his wife is thinking of transitioning to become a man and he is trying to impose his heteronormative patriarchal dominance over her in expecting her to maintain a more feminine body shape (based on HIS concept of what femininity should look like, of course). For good measure his buying a piece of exercise equipment for his (presumably white) wife means that a person of color is deprived of the chance to own that piece of equipment.

Yep, white heterosexual men are the problem, no doubt about it. Ho ho ho, merry Christmas.

You can't say ho, ho, ho anymore. It offends the prostitutes.

 

[zecryphon_nomdiv]

But that's their armchair activism, don't you know. They don't even have to move from their computers to fight the man!

Is the internet also freaking out about that workout you do in front of your mirror?

 

[Lamb]

Is the internet also freaking out about that workout you do in front of your mirror?

That mirror scares me. If people freak out about Alexa then surely they will be worried about privacy issues. I wonder if people are throwing sheets over the mirror at night? LOL

 

[tango]

That mirror scares me. If people freak out about Alexa then surely they will be worried about privacy issues. I wonder if people are throwing sheets over the mirror at night? LOL

It seems to me that people fall into one of two camps. One camp is people like me, who put electrical tape over the front-facing camera on laptops and tablets and refuses to allow anything like Alexa anywhere near the house. The other don't care who knows what - they figure they have nothing to hide, until they come to realise that some random people have recordings of every single thing they have done and then they demand Something Must Be Done.

 

[zecryphon_nomdiv]

That mirror scares me. If people freak out about Alexa then surely they will be worried about privacy issues. I wonder if people are throwing sheets over the mirror at night? LOL

People usually throw sheets over mirrors for other reasons. This probably isn't the thread for that though.

 

[Jason76]

People traditionally known as good looking exist - and also people whom a niche audience finds good looking. So why can't these people live on the same planet without conflict?