Ryan Reynolds Poked Fun at That Peloton Ad in a New Commercial For His Gin

From Esquire

Lots of commercials try to inspire us to crack open our wallets by making us feel terrible ourselves, and ads for fitness and exercise products are often among the worst offenders. So the bar here was always low, and yet Peloton managed to limbo dance right below it with its holiday ad, which went viral for exactly all the wrong reasons this week. It features a women who, visibly frightened of the Peloton-brand exercise bike her husband gifts her, nonetheless films a full year of herself using it, which they then sit down to watch while she thanks him profusely.

The whole thing was weird—and just a little bit creepy. Why did her husband buy her a gift that seemed to actively unsettle her? Couldn't she just consign it to the dusty, basement fate that befalls so much exercise equipment? Why does she say at the end that her Peloton journey changed her life, when she seems exactly the same as she did at the start of the commercial? Luckily, Peloton wife is back in a new ad, and seems to be having a much better time—all thanks to some good friends, some purportedly smooth gin, and Ryan Reynolds.

The Deadpool actor posted an ad for his Aviation gin to social media Friday, and the spot video features the same actress, now out with her friends. She downs sizable gulps of martinis as her pals reassure her that she’s “safe here,” presumably far, far away from any unwanted fitness equipment. Reynolds gave the post the cheeky caption, “Exercise bike not included.”

Piggybacking on a viral commercial is a pretty brilliant move—let’s face it, you can’t shake a stick without hitting a celebrity booze brand, and this funny spot really helps Aviation stand out from the crowd. There’s less happy news for Peloton, however, as backlash to their ad help cost the brand more than $900 million in market value last week.

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