In an awkward position after the death of a character from “Sex and the City” on one of its exercise bikes, the Peloton group managed to turn the situation around with innovative communication that has bolstered its popularity.
Initially, what looked like one of the worst product placements in television and film history.
One of the main characters of the series “Sex and the City”, Mr. Big (aka John Preston), succumbs to a heart attack after a session on a Peloton bike, in the first episode of the seventh season.
Product placements are as old as Hollywood, but the only hiccups so far have been limited to overly-supported appearances, which awkwardly put a brand forward.
After the episode of “SATC”, social networks ignited and joked about Peloton, before the group’s share price lost 5.38% on Friday on Wall Street.
An incident that fell all the more badly since the manufacturer of high-end exercise bikes and treadmills is already struggling to cope with the end of the pandemic, during which it experienced a considerable boom.
Peloton reacted very quickly with a statement from cardiologist Suzanne Steinbaum, member of the group’s scientific council, who played the humor card to message.
She spoke of the “extravagant” lifestyle of Mr. Big, with “cocktails, cigars and big steaks”, a priori solely responsible for the death of the sixty-year-old.
On Sunday, Peloton uploaded a short film showing a resurrected Mr. Big (actor Chris Noth) with Jess King, one of the brand’s stars who played the instructor at the infamous “SATC” session. Fatal to John Preston.
Mr. Big proposes a “tour” of the bicycle, punctuating with a: “life is too short”.
“Communication blow”
“Peloton’s approach has been smart, delicate and, for me, has changed history,” responded Ron Torossian, founder of public relations agency 5WPR.
Its management of the crisis was all the more surprised as Peloton has had its feet in the carpet more than once in the past.
In December 2019, the New York-based company had unleashed a torrent of criticism and parodies after the airing of an advertisement that showed a woman claiming to be “transformed” by the stationary bike offered to her by her husband.
The group’s action had then lost more than 20% and Peloton had contented itself with issuing a sober statement, without succeeding in calming the fire.
In April 2021, the start-up qualified as “inaccurate and misleading” a press release from the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) which suggested no longer using the Tread +, one of the treadmills of Platoon.
According to the independent agency, the device was responsible for “sucking” several young children, one of whom had died.
A few days later, the CEO and founder of the company, John Foley, had to publicly apologize and officially recall the models.
With Mr. Big, Peloton was dealing with a fictional character and could afford to approach the matter more lightly, but not without risk.
“Humor is a very delicate instrument to use in a crisis situation,” said Mark Hass, professor of communications at Arizona State University, “and the spot struck the right tone. “
The sequence was executed so well that some see it as an operation cleverly orchestrated jointly, from start to finish, by Peloton and the HBO channel.
“It was nothing more than a communication blow”, thus affirmed, without proof, the columnist of the New York Post, Maureen Callahan. The price resumed 7.35% on Monday.
A spokesperson told NBC’s “Today” show that the group agreed to the use of a bicycle, but without knowing the context.
For Jon Pfeiffer, lawyer specializing in the world of production, film studios and television channels hardly ever involve brands in their artistic choices.
“HBO will not give anyone the right to approve or disapprove content,” he explains, unlike YouTubers, who most often have their videos approved by the brand before broadcast.
Asked by AFP about a possible legal action against HBO, Peloton did not follow up. But for Jon Pfeiffer, “in court, it would not go far.”
Why get into litigation, “when, as far as I can see,” says Mark Hass, “Peloton is in a better position today than it was before Mr. Big died. “