Well this sure rules.
It’s fair to say that Peloton initially took the whole And Just Like That… thing a little too seriously. For anyone who may have missed it: The HBO Max follow-up to Sex and the City premiered on Dec. 9, and in a spoiler-y first episode twist, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Carrie Bradshaw’s on-again/off-again boyfriend-turned-loving-husband, dies of a heart attack shortly after he finishes a Peloton session.
Peloton’s public relations team, seemingly caught off guard by the fictional plot twist that has a loose-but-inescapable tie to the company’s flagship product, sprung into action. Cue an actual doctor stepping up to tell us all about how Big’s “extravagant” lifestyle likely prompted the heart attack, and that his time using the stationary bike may have actually staved off the cardiac event. Which, cute. But also, give us a break.
Peloton seemingly got the message, because the company came roaring back to life on Sunday afternoon with a mic drop of a tweet, in the form of a new and decidedly cheeky PSA.
Let’s break this down. The guy on the couch is Noth, and he’s sitting with a real-life Peloton instructor named Jess King. She actually makes an appearance on And Just Like That… as a fictional Peloton trainer named Allegra; in fact, she’s the one who leads Big’s final session.
The PSA caps off with a Carrie Bradshaw-style voiceover from none other than Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds. The voiceover is a nod to the show, and the content of what he’s saying — basically a rehashing of what Peloton’s doctor said on Saturday — seems like yet more ass-covering on Peloton’s part.
As for the “He’s alive” bit at the end? It sure feels like Peloton is using Reynolds to maybe spark a hashtag campaign that can serve as a little joint advertising for both the fitness company and the new streaming series. It’s just silly for the sake of it. And of course, Reynolds and his extremely online content team know how to turn a viral moment into a cheeky ad — it’s not the first time this has happened.
