You haven't heard the last of the awful Peloton ad.
Ryan Reynolds gave the actress from the advertisement the opportunity to appear in a commercial for his Aviation Gin brand. The actress, Monica Ruiz, can be seen in the video above being comforted by her friends at a bar. She's staring into the screen, a bit dazed.
The actress takes a sip of her alcohol and tells her friends that "this gin is really smooth." They offer to buy her another round of drinks, to which she obliges. Noticeably, she's no longer wearing a ring in the video.
“I was happy to accept a job opportunity earlier this year from Peloton and the team was lovely to work with," Ruiz said in a statement provided to Deadline. "Although I’m an actress, I am not quite comfortable being in spotlight and I’m terrible on social media. So to say I was shocked and overwhelmed by the attention this week (especially the negative) is an understatement.
“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation," she continued. "I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.”
Sean Hunter, the actor who played the husband in the commercial also spoke out in an interview on Good Morning America. “People turned down a pretty dark path and it turned into a nasty thing,” he said. “Once something goes viral, and it turns viral, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue they want."
Peloton received a boatload of negative criticism from the ad, leading them to give a statement about how they are "disappointed in how some have misinterpreted" the tone of the commercial.
"We constantly hear from our members how their lives have been meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them," they said. "Our holiday spot was created to celebrate that fitness and wellness journey. While we're disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial, we are encouraged by—and grateful for—the outpouring of support we've received from those who understand what we were trying to communicate."
