Here’s the advert :
I honestly don’t see the big deal. It’s an exercise bike, they advertised it like an exercise bike. People wanting to work out isn’t a bad thing. I’m all for the fat acceptance movement, but it’s counterproductive to turn it into an anti-exercise movement. The point is that people can be healthy at any size, not that exercise is the devil 
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The issue I’ve heard is played out as this:
In some eyes giving exercise equipment is gauche, implies you think they’re fat.
The whole video taping it for her husband reeks of an air of needed approval from the man figure. “Did I do good, daddy?” Vibe from it.
It’s…not a perfect add, IMO. But they’re also clever enough to do it on purpose for the negative blowback and subsequent attention
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Yeah I saw this on the news.
Peloton bikes are very expensive.
They cost more than 2000 bucks plus monthly fees for their video playback.
I didn’t think that the controversy was a big deal.
My brother has one.
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This is an ad about mental health, not physical health.
The lady is physically the same from when she receives the bike to one year later. However, at the end of the ad she says,“A year ago, I did not realize how much this would change me.”
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That’s the exact vibe I get from this commercial.
It’s not often brought up but commercials are one way of indexing a society’s cultural norms and how they are progressing. Most advertisements for febreze or for clothing detergent, for example, show a woman using the products while her kids are around. And when I say most, I mean 95%. According to TV commercials, men are still universal breadwinners and women are still all housewives. It’s a little insulting.
This Peloton ad is a good example of what I’m talking about. The husband isn’t expected to use the bike at all (and doesn’t), the woman goes through it five days a week at 6 AM every day despite how it makes her feel, and she gives a real “do I get approval” look at her husband when they’re watching the vlog. Not to mention thanking him for all the work she did herself.
I am sort of glad some people think it’s offensive, I’m ready to start seeing actresses with more realistic weight numbers in these commercials. It would also be neat if every freaking Peloton ad didn’t feature a multi-million dollar home that 80% of us can’t ever dream of affording, but that’s a separate issue.
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But that’s the target audience of their ads. Rich people with 2k extra to spend on Christmas gifts. I can see your point about it looking like she’s seeking approval. That’s not how I interpreted it, but I can see how that would ruffle feathers. But makers of luxury exercise equipment are always going to appeal to their target audience of people who own multi million dollar homes. It would be ridiculous for them to make an ad targeted towards struggling college students or some such.
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At the end of the day there are far more sexist things than that Peloton ad . Sexism is an issue ,in society, without doubt. It needs to be tackled . However people going over the top about that ad distracts people from noticing far more virulent examples of sexism .
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I’ve seen a lot of people saying “shes already skinny why does she need to do a video diary to lose weight?” Among other things. (I haven’t seen it on this site but on others such as youtube.) Is self improvement only for those who have a bunch of weight to lose? That happens on weight watchers a lot. People who are in decent shape will join to lose that last 4 pounds of stubborn weight, and people who have a lot more to lose will freak out and say things like “why are you here? This service isnt for you!” I hate that attitude.
As far as filming it for her husband, calling that sexism is a stretch. People take photos and videos to track their progress all of the time, and maybe her husband is her biggest supporter? Theres many ways to interpret this ad, and it just seems to me that people are going out of their way to interpret it as ultra offensive.
Also the idea that you cant give exercise equipment as a gift for Christmas is stupid. I’ve asked for exercise equipment many times, and I’ve given exercise equipment a few times. I mean I dont do it randomly, I only give it to people who ask or who I know are working on self improvement, which is what the wife in this ad seems to be doing.
There are more important issues to be offended about than this. It is wise to pick our battles, because being offended over this just seems petty.
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Weight isnt the only indicator of health though. There are people who are skinny or seem to be in good shape who have terrible cardio. Weight also isnt the only thing that improves from exercise.
I just dont think having healthy goals, such as working out 5 times a week, should be exclusively for people who have a lot of weight to lose. That kind of defeats the purpose.
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