Peloton is giving insight into its viral ad released Sunday in response to the bombshell debut episode of the “Sex and the City” reboot, “And Just Like That.”
The fitness company released the ad featuring Chris Noth, who plays fan-favorite character Mr. Big and Peloton instructor Jess King flirting on a couch talking about taking another ride on the companies’ bikes. The ad finishes with a voiceover by actor Ryan Reynolds where he quickly goes through the health benefits of cycling — such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease — and ends simply with “he’s alive.”
The viral ad was made in reference to the debut episode of “And Just Like That,” where Noth’s character dies from a heart attack following his 1,000th at-home Peloton ride.
While many have wondered when the ad was made, considering Peloton released a statement following the episode’s debut stating they were unaware of the specifics of the reboot’s plot, Reynolds confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that the ad came together after the episode came out.
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Reynolds and his Maximum Effort marketing company were already in talks with Peloton earlier this month on another project, but were reached out to by Dara Treseder, chief marketing officer of Peloton, following the episode’s debut and both companies worked together quickly to create the ad.
“Chris was in right away but it was a whirlwind. For all of us,” Reynolds explained. “I certainly helped secure Chris but Maximum Effort has built itself on challenges like these so, while never ever easy, the secret is practice and not losing heart when challenges inevitably occur.
“The response has been great,” Reynolds continued. “It’s been really satisfying to work so hard so quickly toward something [that] is this much fun and have it work out. I think people like to see the spirit of Maximum Effort — that we want to have fun and bring people together but not ever at anyone’s expense.”
The ad quickly went viral after it was released, garnering almost 2 million views on Peloton’s Instagram and 1.1 million views on Reynolds’ tweet.
Following the shocking episode, Peloton saw its stock prices plunge by 11.35 percent to $40.80. The following morning, prices were continuing to drop by more than 5 percent. As of publication time, the company’s stock has increased by 1 percent today to $38.86.
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