An ad for Peloton Bikes went viral earlier this year, as it depicted a husband giving his wife a bike and her chronicling her use of it over the following year, with the actor in the ad, Sean Hunter, revealing on Instagram that he got his real-life girlfriend the popular bike. While a number of different companies debut holiday-themed commercials when we head into the gift-giving season, the original ad for Peloton quickly went viral, as the wife in the ad’s chronicle of the fitness journey appeared as though she was being punished for the holiday as opposed to being enabled to stay physically fit.
The actor shared an image of himself with his girlfriend on the bike while adding the caption, “Here’s hoping this goes over better the second time…. Merry Christmas to my actual girlfriend (pls don’t leave me).”
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The actress from the commercial, Monica Ruiz, has been earning fame for the viral ad, appearing on a variety of talk shows and being tapped for other opportunities. Possibly her most exciting opportunity came from Ryan Reynolds, whose Aviation Gin company enlisted her to mock the original Peloton ad.
In the Aviation commercial, Ruiz is seen out at a bar with her friends and, while she doesn’t have to directly address the Peloton events, her friends are clearly attempting to console her. The closest the ad comes to directly referencing the viral Peloton clip are the holiday decorations around the bar and the friends encouraging “new beginnings.”
Reynolds clearly knew from the first time he saw the Peloton ad that a unique opportunity presented itself, previously admitting he quickly enlisted Ruiz for his commercial after first having seen her in the Peloton advert.
“Within a few hours of her ad,” Reynolds confirmed with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about enlisting the actress. “I’ve been there, in that position as an actor, where something doesn’t quite work and I really wish someone from a gin company called me up right after Green Lantern and was like, ‘Hey, I got something funny you can do as an answer to that.’ We got ahold of her, it was really difficult, because nobody knew how to get ahold of her. Obviously the people at Peloton didn’t want us to get ahold of her. But we got ahold of her and within 36 hours we shot, chopped, and put out this commercial.”
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